A Chance at Redemption
by ceceangel456
Summary: It's been 10 years since the PPG left Townsville after the "Accident" and everyone believes that the girls are dead. With this the girls can now return under hidden identities and live as normal teenagers. But for the past decade their powers have been growing way beyond expectations. What happens if they can't handle their powers and end up revealing their true identities?
1. Part I: A Bittersweet Farewell

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

Chapter 1

Part I: A Bittersweet Farewell

_With the sun looming over and casting a glazed impression on the makeshift home of the Utonium family, Blossom is awakened by a soft thud coming from the fireplace._

-Blossom-

_Just count to ten…_

I woke up with my blanket sprawled across the floor next to the worn hardback cover of _The Sun Also Rises_. The same thing happened all over again, like a reoccurring nightmare. The Professor always says that our dreams are merely the illusions we let ourselves produce in times of great fear, but he never said anything about them being reminders.

I began to look forlornly at the calendar already knowing the date and time. It happens every day, as I remind myself that I didn't imagine everything that happened and that the chances of me waking up with my sisters as a five year old were slim to none.

The noise started to come from the front door, breaking my train of thought.

_Who the hell visits at 6:13 in the morning!?_

"Damn kids," I muttered to myself as I slumped a robe over my t-shirt to see none other than the man who put me and my family in this hellhole ten years ago.

The years weren't very kind.

The man looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. The receding hair line was now nonexistent with a scalp lined with baggy wrinkles and liver spots. However, despite the thick tension between us, I started to snicker at the irony of him looking so miserable, like _he _was the one that suffered.

"And to whom do I owe the honor of having the _Mayor of Townsville_ knocking on my door?" I retorted, the sarcasm dripping from my voice. I crossed my arms against my chest as I waited for his response. I've always imagined what it'd be like to confront him, but I could never quite imagine how satisfying it would feel.

"Blossom…" he sighed, "please let me in."_ When Hell Freezes Over_

"Give me one good reason not to slam the door in your face." I spat.

Astonishment flashed across his face before his forlorn expression returned. What was he expecting to see? A girl with a big red bow on her forehead? That I was going to play diplomat and _'discuss'_ what happened?

"Because he's the reason we're returning to Townsville."

I turned around to see the Professor emerging from the shadow by the entrance to his room with his cane. The years have done him in considerably too. His hair was now marked with hints of white and gray, giving it a salt-and-pepper look with a five o'clock shadow growing noticeable. Wearing his sweatpants and a wife beater, he gravely looked up at the unexpected visitor.

I stared at him in disbelief. The Professor wouldn't make a bluff like that, but I still couldn't believe what he just said.

_Complete bullshit if you'd think I'd believe that. And why? Because the NSA felt a little sorry for the 'fallen heroines'? Just who the hell does he think he's talking to? I'm not Bubbles!_

"What?" Bubbles squeaked from the hallway, eavesdropping on our conversation. She entered the living room wearing her short blue nightgown from when we were kids which was now up to her mid-thigh leaving her hair hanging down from her shoulders in tight curls. She left from her hiding spot fearful of the person at the front door.

"Blossom, we understand what you're feeling; we've all lived through it. But can you please let him inside? There's a lot that needs to be explained right now." The Professor said calmly.

I knew I lost, even though all I wanted to do was spit in his face and kick him off our driveway. I slowly creaked open the door with my fist clenching the handle. Looking at the carpet beneath my feet, I started to think about what Buttercup would say. God, I missed my sister, especially in times like these.

-Bubbles-

Our living room is pretty small. It only has small fireplace, a ratty couch, and a matching chair with stuffing coming out of the seams, but still it's a room that I've lived with for ten years.

And now we're leaving it all.

I was sitting next to Blossom, who was in the middle between me and the Professor on the couch while the Mayor sat on the chair with his assistant standing by the fireplace. It took a while, but he finally managed to convince Blossom that she didn't have any guns on her. But she didn't look like she was really dangerous; in fact she looked pretty nice. The lady had short dark brown hair in corkscrew twists going down to her chin with light café brown skin and chocolate brown eyes. I didn't know why, but I felt like out of all the strangers I met in my life, I could trust her the most.

I couldn't believe it was the Mayor though; he looked so _different_. His face was gaunt, pale, and covered in dark spots. All of his hair was gone, even his fluffy little mustache was shaved off and left a pair of sagging lips protruding with age.

After a long silence, Blossom spoke. "Would anyone care to inform me and my sister on what the hell's going on?" She seemed very impatient with everyone in the room, including the Professor, probably feeling resentful that he never told her anything beforehand.

The Mayor cleared his throat to start "Well, a majority of officials in the NSA have decided that it was time you returned back to Townsville…"

This was met with another moment of silence. I had to double check my ears to be sure I heard them right, something rarely done. I glanced over to our family picture against the wall back when we were five in Townsville. I could feel the tears stinging my eyes looking back on how innocent we were. So much has changed since then.

When I looked back over I saw three pairs of eyes staring at me and my sister, preparing for our reaction. But I didn't know what to say.

Luckily, Blossom was the first one to recover. "…Just like that? No debates, votes, press conferences…?"

"Oh, well there may have been some opposition…"

"Well no shit," she retorted.

"Blossom!" the Professor yelled as he sternly glared at her, but even I was a little shocked. Only Buttercup would say that and she would only say it under her breath. But at the same time, I couldn't blame her. After all, they came after so long to give us _that_?

"It's okay Mr. Utonium." The Mayor reassured. Maybe that's why he looked so miserable; having to face the people he hurt a long time ago.

His assistant, I think her name was Gladys, appeared from the corner to speak for the first time. "What Mr. Morgan means to say is now that Townsville has forgotten about your existence and actions, it should be okay for you to leave Western Pines under aliases and –"

"They _forgot_ about us_?_" I whispered, my voice sounded so soft. This was expected and it was supposed to be a good thing, but it hurt so much more. The times with Dick Hardly, Mojo Jojo, the Gangrene Gang, and they just _forgot_ all about it?

Gladys approached our side and knelt down so that she could face me and my sister. "Think on this optimistically. You get to have _normal_ lives for once! You wouldn't have to worry about criminals, you can go out with friends, go to school dances, go out on dates…"

_No more crime_. We could be ordinary people for once. But I noticed the conflicted look on Blossom's face as we exchanged looks and I knew exactly what she was thinking.

_But it wouldn't be us_.

But what other choice do we have?

"What about all of the criminals?" I asked. "The Femme Fatale, Mr. Mime…?"

"All taken care of," Gladys grinned. Blossom and I had a hard time keeping a straight face. Exactly how could _they_ have managed to take down the people _we_ had issues with since we were kids?

"You shouldn't underestimate the NSA," Gladys responded, noticing our expressions with a raised eyebrow.

"Gladys Campbell has worked closely with the National Security Branch and served as a detective in cases like narcotics and organized crime. She could tell you how intimidating they are." The Mayor added, probably the longest he's ever spoken since this visit. But my mind kept thinking about HIM, Mojo Jojo, and the Rowdyruff boys, who were twice as strong. Using guns and cannons couldn't even be considered threatening since Mojo literally had closets full of them.

"Guess it can't be helped," Blossom sighed, showing defeat. "So when are we leaving? In a couple of days? A Week?"

"Today. It's 6:37 right now so we can leave by 7:30 once you're done getting ready." The Mayor said absent mindedly, oblivious to me and Blossom's shock. The Professor's remained placid; he's probably already packed.

"_Today!? _How are we supposed to get all of our stuff ready in under an _hour!?_ What about Buttercup?!" Blossom yelled.

"Oh, right. There are three of you." He mumbled to himself. I stared at him in shock. _How could he have forgotten about Buttercup?_

"Where is she by the way?"

The three of us couldn't respond for a moment. Exchanging knowing glances, Blossom and I quickly left the living room to pack when the Professor slowly rose to his feet. "We'll meet her on our way out of Western Pines." When he looked up to see the doubt written on both of the officials' faces, he tactfully added, "Out of the three girls, Buttercup has had the hardest time… _adjusting_ to the situation."

-Buttercup-

"Utonium!"

"_Please let it be a dream."_ I groaned to myself, burrowing further into my blankets. That son of a bitch already had me run 5 miles last night, the least he could do is spare me a couple minutes of sleep! A moment of peace followed. I sank deeper into my sheets with sweet gratitude. _Maybe it was my lucky day._

"**UTONIUM! DID YOU NOT HEAR ME? GET YOUR SORRY ASS OVER HERE **_**NOW!**_**"**

"So much for that." I muttered. I kicked off my sheets and sprinted to where First Lieutenant Boggs was, walking would seriously test him, and I don't need two strikes this early in the morning. I glanced over at my watch to see the time. 6:41, _who in the hell_ wakes_ at 6 in the damn-_

"Phone call." He said as he handed me the phone. At first I stared at him with a confused look on my face, sure that he probably made a mistake. I couldn't even remember the last time my family called me, or visited for that matter. But as soon as he raised his eyebrows at me I knew that I was just better off biting my tongue and telling whoever was on the line that they were looking for someone else.

As I took the phone from his hand, I felt a little uneasy using it. The thing looked like it was older than me. "Hello?"

"Sweetie, it's the Professor," he cleared his throat before he continued. "I don't have a lot of time before I have to hang up the phone so I'll be quick."

_Shit. _He was calling after what, six months? The only times things got real bad was when they involved me, so why would he be calling now? My palms were beginning to sweat and the phone started to weight a ton. I didn't know if whether or not I wanted to hear this (in fact I just wanted to hang up) but chances are it wouldn't be good.

At 6:51 First Lieutenant Shirley Boggs was preparing for the morning call when he noticed Private Utonium was still on the phone.

_She can't put up conversation with her family for five minutes, how she managed to make her way to ten is beyond me,_ he scoffed to himself. But as he looked closer he could notice something was off about her composure. The longer she spent on the phone, the color on her face began to drain into pallor. Her eyes shifted frantically on the table and it was clear to Boggs that whatever that phone call was, it couldn't have been very pleasant to see his one of his toughest students like this.

When Utonium finally hung up the phone, her eyes were still fixed on the table and it looked like she was going to drop at any second. Taking a second glance at the intercom, he decided no one would complain at a few more minutes of sleep and approached the trembling figure.

"Utonium."

She didn't seem to respond as her eyes remained on the floor, miles away from here.

"_Utonium._" He repeated a bit more stern. She flinched at his voice like it was the first time he spoke to her. "Sir." She responded faintly as she drifted towards her bed, the pallor on her cheeks still present as she picked up her Duffel bag.

"Utonium just what do you think you're doing with your luggage? Get in line for morning call!" he barked.

"Sorry, Sir," She looked at him for the very first time this morning and managed to put up a wry smile even though her eyes showed the pain, "but I just can't do that."

"What-"

"My… dad just called," she mumbled to herself, still feeling uncomfortable by calling the Professor her dad after so long, "and he said that I'm leaving. Today in about 1 hour."

Boggs lowered his arm for a moment and stared at the girl who couldn't meet his face and knew every word she said was true. Out of the eleven months he's known her, he's never seen her so depressed. Yeah, she was one of the stubborn ones, but that granted her high respect from the Lieutenant and her teammates.

She reminded him of himself, and even though he wouldn't admit it, he'd miss her deeply.

Boggs was unsure of how much time had passed between the two before he found his voice again.

"Well, the least I can do is help you pack. You can't fold for shit."

Utonium let out a small chuckle, fighting hard to hold the tears stinging the back of her eyes. She didn't know which part was worse; leaving a place she just started to call home, or going to a place that she's dreaded since she was a kid. Just the name Townsville drains the blood from her cheeks, and now she was going back after all those years. She'd have to face all those people again. She remembered the glares, the accusations, the jeers, it was a chapter in her life that she just wanted to turn away from.

_But Bubbles and Blossom will be there with you, _she thought hopefully, only to be replaced by a more cynical tone.

_Don't kid yourself, sweetheart. They're not going to be any help for __**your**__ situation. _They don't know.

She zipped up her Duffel bag and looked out the window towards the cloudy gray sky, at a loss of words for how she felt; confusion, loneliness, sorrow, but most of all remorse. They'll never know.

_It was all you. You were the one who didn't follow orders, you were the one who attacked, and now… you're the one who's paying for it all. _They don't know shit.

She could hear the horn honking at a distance, and she knew it was time to say goodbye, but she didn't even know how to start. Sure enough when she rose to face her Lieutenant, he swept her up into a giant bear hug.

Usually, she'd complain about how tight his grip was, but instead she returned the embrace gratefully.

"I'd better not see you with your shirt loose on the street or I'm gonna have my foot up your ass," her lieutenant muffled in their tight embrace.

"Whatever you say, _Shirley_", Buttercup snickered under her breath and ran off before her old director could lash out on her for calling him by first name.

Running past the stacks of beds in the chamber room, she finally made it towards the back door entrance where she could meet the Professor by walking alongside the border of the school to the Main Gates. But as she stepped out the door and finally slowed down, she realized that she didn't run to avoid Boggs's wrath. He wouldn't have even bothered since he's failed too many times to count.

As a small tear tore through the corner of her eye, she knew that the last thing she wanted to leave her Lieutenant to remember her by was how heartbroken she felt.

She quickly swiped the tear away, refusing to let her family see her like this. And with that resolution, she turned back one last time to see her one solace, and slowly exited the back gates of the military school and made her way to the sound of the horn, preparing herself for what the future would bring.


	2. Part II: A Bittersweet Farewell

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

Let me just say that for those who first read the chapter on the first few days it came out, there have been minor tweaks to the plot that I used. It's minor and probably won't even be noticeable, but still things that I thought would shift the direction of the story, and for that I didn't want anyone getting confused. So Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 2

Part II: A Bittersweet Farewell

_With a light mist still present, three government certified SUV's veered off to the curb of the main gate to Mitchell McCoy's Military Academy for Girls just as morning call started. As the time was nearing 7:50, Blossom and Bubbles waited anxiously to see their last sister before travelling back to Townsville._

-Bubbles-

"It's been ten minutes already. Where is she?"

"She'll be here Bubbles, just be _patient_." I could tell I was getting on Blossom's nerves from the twitch from the corner of her right eye every time I started tapping my foot again, but I felt like if I didn't move something, I was going to go crazy.

The Mayor (well I guess he should be called Mr. Morgan now, since he's retired) had us escorted out of our house in three SUV's, with me, Blossom, and the Professor with Mr. Morgan ,Gladys, and a certified government driver in one SUV that stayed in the middle with the other two coming from its front and back. To this very moment I'm still trying to figure out why exactly they decided to make this into such a big deal, I mean it's not like we're going to Townsville on a parade, and if they were planning something, I just hope they give me and Blossom a chance to change, since the news of us moving out was at the last minute. All I'm wearing is a short sleeved shirt with a tiny caption of a cat that I've had since I was eleven and my jean skirt with flip flops. Blossom looked a little better with her white short sleeved collared shirt and capris with flats, but still not dressed for any special occasion.

I could find myself staring out of the window every time something seemed to stand out in the slightest way. After all of these years, it's like I'm looking at this town for the first time, there are places here that I never even knew existed that were literally five minutes away from my house, so I guess it's needless to say that my sisters and I rarely got out of the house. Or at least Blossom and I rarely did.

When we parked ourselves along the side of the base camp, the students were already starting drills, some using the obstacle course, others running along the border of the camp on the inside, already covered in sweat and mud. The whole place just gave off this intimidating atmosphere. I looked at these girls who were just about my age and I tried to imagine Buttercup in their place. I tried to see her climbing up the ladders, crawling in mud, listening to their barking orders with complete indifferent and unlimited obedience.

How Buttercup managed 9 months in here was beyond me.

As if on cue I could see a figure come off from the side of the main gate separating the school from the main road way and I knew it had to be her. _It's her._

"She's here!" My legs sprung out of the back seat and frantically ran out of the SUV to go meet her. From the yelling I heard behind me I figured it probably wasn't a good idea to do that without anybody knowing, but I didn't care. All I cared about was seeing my sister, who hasn't seen us in ages. Why was I the only one feeling so enthusiastic about this? If anything, _I_ should be annoyed with _them_ for being so insensitive!

By the time I was next to the SUV parked in front of us Gladys had already placed a protective hand in front of me. I looked up at her, not quite figuring out who she was trying to protect me from, but obediently stayed behind her.

From here I finally got a close up look to my sister as she neared closer. It was like I was seeing my sister for the very first time. I could remember how angry she looked all the time, giving off this stiff aura around her like a walking time bomb. Her hands would always be in fists and she used them almost every time she got the chance, either on someone else or more often on the walls in her room. She was always screaming at someone and getting into fights with Blossom, Professor, and even me sometimes.

But I've never seen her look so distant before. She walked in steady languid strides with her head casted slightly downwards, a complete switch from the aggressive pace she used to carry around with her. Wearing a black long sleeved cropped top with baggy army green cargos tucked into a pair of sleek black combat boots, she came closer with her hands dug into her pockets and raised her head from the roadside to where we were standing, but she looked like she was far away, like on a another planet altogether. Out of all the years I've known her, I don't think I've ever admired her more than I did then.

But then she suddenly stopped actually _looked _at where she was headed. Her stoic features changing to annoyance and disgust. As I turned to where she was staring, I realized that the Professor might've left a few important details before hanging up the phone. _Like the fact that we're being "escorted" by government officials who were responsible for putting us here in the first place. _I wasn't really sure of how Buttercup might react to three giant SUV's taking us to Townsville, and I was afraid to find out.

She just froze, taking in the whole picture. But the longer she stared at the whole situation, her face started to twist into contempt as she filled in the pieces. Just when I thought she changed for good… The whole atmosphere changed into something terribly familiar. When her eyes fell on the Mayor with a hint of recognition, I started to feel really uneasy and held my breath as we waited for her reaction. Her furious eyes changed over the years from a lime green to a bright olivine, with dark lime green flecks coming off the edges of the irises. With her lips pressed into a firm line of resolve, Buttercup stared dead at Gladys, whose arm was still protectively guarding me, and dropped her dark green Duffel bag before crossing her arms indignantly.

"I'm staying."

I did a double take at my older sister. Out of all the things she could've said, this clearly took everyone by surprise. Everyone stepping out of the car shared glances with one another, not sure of what to do, or even say at that point.

The door slammed revealing Blossom looking completely livid. "What the hell do you mean you're _staying_?" she snarled through her teeth as she marched menacingly towards Buttercup.

"As in _**I'm staying**_." The first time they see each other in nine months and they were already arguing. Professor just got out of the car, already starting to come up with something to help alleviate the situation but was already too late as Buttercup locked eyes on her next target.

"_The __**fuck **__is this, Professor?!_Apparently it wasn't important enough to mention in a phone call that the very people that threw us in this shithole of a town are the same people that are just going to bring us back?! Or am I the only one that finds that just a little shady?" Buttercup's eyes narrowed into thin slits as she observed him with suspicion and betrayal.

The Professor let out a weary sigh as he tried to calm her down. "Please, Buttercup, let's just-"

"Let's just what? Take a quick stroll down memory lane about all the "fun times" we had being associated with the same crooks we helped Townsville put down with this chick and her two foot dwarf? Sorry, but I think I'll pass. Oh! And while we're on the subject…" she motioned towards Gladys without ever turning her eyes from the Professor, "Just who the hell is she anyway?"

"I told you I'd explain as soon as we see each other face to face-" The professor growled, starting to lose his patience.

"Oh really? So you couldn't have said one word about all of this on the phone? You didn't tell me anything about the Mayor, didn't tell me anything about all these stupid escorts, YOU DIDN'T TELL ME SHIT!"

"_Because I knew you'd react this way!_" he yelled losing every trace of his patience altogether. His eyes to the same level as Buttercup's as they glared at each other. After a long silence, he lowered his voice at a low growl. "Buttercup you need to understand that it just isn't about you. Blossom and Bubbles were caught off guard all the same and they didn't react nearly as bad as you."

"Has it ever even occurred to any of you people that I might just actually _like_ it here? Anyone? Anyone at all?" she asked as she looked towards everyone, expecting an answer. She chuckled when her eyes fell on me, turning a couple shades darker as they gorged my reaction. "Yeah Bubbles, Believe it or not, some people can actually _enjoy_ military school in this world, especially those who can't stand the sight of their own house." Okay, that hurt. We all know the house wasn't all that great, but we tried our best to improve it over the years. Especially Blossom, who took all that time painting over the old walls to make it look at least a little more presentable. Hearing her say that was like a slap in the face for all the work we did on it.

Somehow she couldn't wipe the huge grin off her face as she started to grow increasingly hysterical with each statement. "So by all means Professor, go off with your two picture-perfect daughters and I'll just stay here with Boggs. Because I mean, it's only fair, right? Let's be honest here, it's not _their_ fault for being here, it wasn't a crime that _they_ committed, _they _don't have blood on their hands!" Burst into fits of laughter, she went on like it was some big joke. "Oh wait! But that's not even the best part. To think that you three spent ten years trapped in some hick town really just blows me away. So _kudos_ to all of you for staying here to rot like a ton of cow shit, even though it's so blatantly obvious that the only one who was supposed to stay here in the first place was the Childhood Fuck-Up."

* * *

-Blossom-

The only thing I remember was hearing her last sentence before I felt my hand meet evenly with the side of her face in an earsplitting crack. Bubbles covered her mouth with her hands and just stared at me with her eyes widening with shock. I looked back at Buttercup to see her staring at me with her mouth wide open, unsure of how to even respond to that.

"Now that you're done with your little rant, I want you to listen." I gritted through my teeth. Since everyone else was so dumbstruck at one of Buttercup's antics, I figured it was up to me to settle this stupid tirade. God, I'll never understand why she chooses to act this way!

"First of all, I couldn't give a damn how much you _say _you like it here, but you need to realize that we can't just leave you here by yourself, and don't ask 'why not', because I'm pretty sure why all know why. And secondly," I stepped a little closer to the point of where we were within inches of each other, my voice barely above a soft whisper. "We… Are… A…_Team_, Buttercup. So why is it that the only people who're willing to be a part of it are me and Bubbles? For Chrissake, how do you expect yourself to move on, when you can't even say the _**name**_ of the godforsaken place, much less anyone in it?!" I was having such a hard time keeping my voice leveled that I knew I had to end this quick. I kept my voice dangerously low so that Gladys couldn't hear me.

"_Now you're going to follow us into that car," _as I motioned towards the door, _"and we are going to drive to Townsville __**together**__, whether you like it or not. So I suggest that you STOP playing this game, PICK up your damn bag, and MAKE your way over to those kind men so they can put your stuff in the goddamn trunk. __**DO… I… MAKE… MYSELF… CLEAR?**__"_

For a moment she just stared with a blank expression on her face, but I could tell from her clenched fists that nothing would make her happier than knocking my teeth out. "Crystal," she spat as she roughly tossed her Duffel bag at one of the staggering drivers. I grabbed her arm before she marched off to the SUV's.

"Oh! And while we're on the subject…" I mused. She responded with an icy glare. If looks could kill… "I don't want to hear you say anything like that again. You're _not _some fuck up, and you have no proof for anything that you just said, it was _all_ of our faults for what happened, and not a day goes by that I don't want to change it. But our abilities only go so far and-"

Before I could finish, she harshly yanked her arm away from me as she trudged away, clearly done with the conversation.

With her back turned she didn't see the disappointment on my face as I opened the matching locket the Professor gave all three of us to show a picture of Bubbles and Buttercup at our seventh birthday looking like complete opposites. Bubbles was looking so enthusiastically at the camera with her bright blond pigtails matching the beautiful smile on her face, while Buttercup instead turned her eyes in the other direction with her stubborn signature pout, the birthday hat looking so awkwardly out of place with her hostile demeanor. This picture never fails to bring a smile on my face. Despite everything that's happened, I still can't find a single difference in the two.

It was as if the nine months that she was gone didn't change her one bit, but it certainly did change her appearance. Form wise, she always had a little more curves than me and Bubbles, but there was no real noticeable change besides a slight tan on her forehead and cheeks. But she did cut her hair drastically from the shoulder length hair she had when we met last time, leaving it just below the jaw line like when we were kids, but only now it was in a high ponytail, leaving her side bangs hanging down all the way towards her chin with choppy bangs hanging just below the her right eye and rising until they disappeared right beside her left temple.

I looked back at Buttercup who was hoisting herself into the SUV to sit next to Bubbles, refusing any sort of help from the drivers. She changes her appearance on the outside, but is still the predictable little sister I've bossed around since I was a kid.

_There's only so much that you can hold on your shoulders, Buttercup. The least you can do is let me hold some of it._

Gladys just had this blank expression, unsure of what to do. But I couldn't blame her for underestimating how difficult the situation might be, though. _Just pick up a couple of kids and their dad from some hillbilly town a couple thousand miles away from the state. Easy, right?_ But then again we are the Powerpuff Girls for a reason; nothing's easy when it comes to us.

I turned to Gladys, who was still speechless on the encounter. "It's time to go." I said, joining my sisters in the van for what was going to possibly be the longest drive of my life.

* * *

-Buttercup-

_Stupid Bitch, _I thought to myself as I scrolled to the first song I saw on my iPod. I didn't want to hear any of their freaking explanations for what happened, or at least not now. When Immortal Technique filled my ears I gave a huge sigh in relief, the acoustics already soothing my anger. With the lyrics, it felt as if he was singing the song just for me at that moment.

…_**Scared to talk shit in person, cause they stuck in a shell**__**  
**__**and couldn't understand the pain of being stuck in a cell**__**  
**__**Hell is not a place you go, if you not a Christian**__**  
**__**it's the failure of your life's greatest ambition…**_

…_**I'm just like a desperate motherfucker strapped to a bomb**__**  
**__**Humanity is gone, smoked up in a gravity bong**__**  
**__**by a Democrat Republican Cheech and Chong…**_

…_**Try to confuse you, makin' it hard to follow this:**__**  
**__**capitalism and democracy are not synonymous…**_

I stole a quick glance at the lady (I think her name was Sharon… whatever. It was a stupid name anyway) sitting beside the Professor. All of these stupid bureaucrats telling us what to do like we're freaking cattle. It's been like that since I was 6, always being told where to go and where to hide; how to live, how to act, who to talk to, who to avoid. Had I been given the choice to stay, I would've finally been done with it all and could've moved on with my life without worrying if I'm following some dumbass rule that was made by some dumbass administrator in dumbass office building. Being locked up in some cage for eleven years, and now all of a sudden everyone just had _'a change of heart'_? Am I the only one that's not buying this bullshit? The government won't move an inch for someone unless it pads up their wallets, and this is no different.

She started to laugh at something some joke the Professor said as I started to shake my head in disgust. She may have gotten to my sisters, and maybe even the Professor, but I know better. This bitch isn't here for anyone but herself, and I'm gonna prove it.

* * *

-Bubbles-

Western Pines is in a tiny little valley in the Midwestern Region of the United States with one road going through both of exits. This place is kinda like a pit-stop town for most drivers before they move on to their next stop, and I think that's why the government chose this place as our new home. Just like the house we left just an hour ago, this place blends in with everything. Nothing sticks out about this place or makes it distinguished out of the rest of the scenery. It virtually has no real identity, just like us in a way.

And yet was we're driving up the hillside and taking our final glimpses of the village that wanted nothing to do with us, I can't help but think we're leaving a part of us behind. A part of us where we were the invisible ones, looking as people went on with their lives. To leave such a huge part of our lives would be like ignoring the fact that it existed at all.

I knew I had only one chance. And now would be the only time.

"Stop! Stop the cars!" I shouted. The SUV's veered off to the curb as six pairs of eyes looked towards me for an answer, but it just seemed too complicated.

With that in mind, I took my disposable camera probably worth less than five bucks at the nearest gas station and strode over to the ledge of the road. With an aerial view of the entire town I could finally see the whole picture for the first time in ten years, and it's never looked so beautiful.

With a small tear slipping down my eye, I pressed the button on the camera with a small click. Just one though, because it was all we'd ever need, or want for that matter, to remind us of a time when we were passerby's to a story being told by someone else. But with this new identity in a new life, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Now, we have our own story to tell, starting with this very picture.

"Sorry… It was something I had to do." I said as I looked up at everyone. Through the mix of faces I could see confusion, annoyance, frustration, concern. But when I looked at Blossom, I could see her giving me an empathetic smile, as if she could read my exact thoughts. With a deep breath, I could finally leave with a piece of closure.

"All right, I'm ready. Let's go to Townsville!"

* * *

Let me just do a quick little speech to say how much those reviews mean to me. For those of you who really picked up on my reading and reviewed like l3rainy, I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart and to let everyone know that I will be continuing this no matter what.

As for the song, that was "_Leaving the Past"_ by Immortal Technique, something I've been listening to lately, but I wasn't going to just copy and paste the entire song. Instead I chose phrases which go right into how Buttercup visualizes things in her perspective, which is actually true to an extent, something I'll go into detail with next chapter!


	3. Embarking in the Waters of the Unknown-1

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

Chapter 3: Embarking in the Waters of the Unknown

_At around noontime with the sun at its peak, the three SUV's drove down the highway. Time began to slow until it was at the brink of torture, so the three sisters had their own ways of passing the hours. Blossom began reading a copy of "The Kite Runner" that the Professor bought for her, Buttercup was lightly snoring while punk music blasted in her headphones, and Bubbles was looking out of the window, counting down the seconds until she saw __the city she's missed so dearly._

* * *

-Blossom-

I tried to ignore Bubbles as she nervously shifted in her seat, because I knew exactly what she was going to say, considering she's said the same thing in the same way... for the _twenty-second time_.

"…Hey, um… are we there y-"

"_No, Bubbles."_ We all said at the same time. You'd think she'd get the point by now!

I looked at Buttercup with bitter envy. I'd trade this book in a heartbeat to have those soundproof headphones right now.

"So… when _are _we going to be there?"

"Bubbles… _sweetie_…" I kindly said with a forced smile. "We'll get there when we get there_. 'KAY?_"

"And that would be now!" Gladys cheerfully said as she snapped her magazine shut. "We're just about to turn into the exit."

"Finally_,_" Bubbles and I groaned. I nudged Buttercup softly to wake her up, but she responded with a jab straight to my stomach. "_Ow!_ How can you be still upset over an argument that was _six hours ago!?_"

Gladys turned in her seat to face us. "Alright girls, since you're going into Townsville with new lives, now would be the only time you have to create it. Most people still take the initials of their original names to keep some traces of their identity."

"You managed to take every shred of that away." Buttercup scoffed with her eyes closed.

"Buttercup!" I scolded. Why is she always so rude to everyone?

Gladys continued like she never even heard her. "So we came up with the name Underhill as your surname, but your first names are up to you three."

"Oooh, ooh! I wanna be first!" Bubbles squeaked as she raised her hand eagerly. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help myself from smiling. What would I do without Bubbles?

"No problem, what's your first name going to be?" Gladys responded taking out a notepad.

"Brooklynn! I've always really liked that name!"

"Blossom?"

I picked the first B-name that came out of my head. "I guess I could live with Brianne," I casually said with a shrug until I heard Buttercup's snort and glared in her direction.

"And Buttercup, yours will be –"

"Haven't decided yet." Buttercup said flatly.

"Fair enough." Gladys replied indifferently. "Girls, take a look at your new home."

We glued to our eyes window to see the city we've known for years, but we got something totally different.

* * *

-Bubbles-

I mean yeah, we all knew that Townsville was a big city, but it was never _that _big.

The city looked like it grew ten times the size that we left it. As we went through the main entrance of Townsville, it seemed like every skyscraper vanished in the clouds, making them look a little intimidating. Even the buildings that weren't as high stuck out. The banks, restaurants, museums were all unique in an odd way. I couldn't bear to tear myself away from the window. "Everything's so _big_."

"Careful, you might catch flies," Buttercup sneered. For a second, I turned and gave her a look before turning back to the window. She could ruin Blossom's mood all she wanted, but she wasn't going to ruin mine's.

"Actually, it's thanks to you guys that all of this was possible." Gladys replied.

I started to look down, feeling a little hurt knowing that I'm the reason that I can't even recognize the place of my childhood, ironically enough. "How's that?," I mumbled.

"Remember when you were always saving the city from criminals and monsters?"

We all nodded our heads slowly, encouraging her to continue.

"Well, you might not have known it then, but because of that Townsville started to get some serious income from you guys. You made this place one of the safest cities in the country, attracting a huge amount of immigration, not to mention the tourists that showed up to see you three in action."

I felt my skin redden into a light rose across my cheekbones. I never thought that our names would be known nationally, much less globally.

"Ms. Bellum decided to store it all in safe keeping for when there was a time when they really needed it, and that time came pretty soon."

We all lit up at the sound of Sara Bellum's voice. "Ms. Bellum?!" we all started to ask a million questions at once.

"You've seen her?"

"What does she look like now?"

"Where is she?"

"Is she married?"

"Does she have any kids?"

"Is she still a secretary?"

Gladys hesitated before she answered our questions. "No, we've never met. Her whereabouts are unknown as of now, and…" she avoided our gaze. "She left her job soon after the Mayor retired."

A long silence followed. I looked to the front of the car to see Mr. Morgan with a lifeless expression on his face. He didn't even blink at the sound of his old secretary's name.

Blossom was the first to speak. "So what happened when we left?"

Gladys, happy to change the subject, jumped right back into a higher voice and moved on. "When you 'died', of course these things were going to go into decline, so Mr. Morgan put in good use to the stored revenue they saved for years and expanded the city to bring back popularity."

_And to get past the bad press associated with the city._ It was never said, but in a way, we were all probably thinking the same thing.

"So sure enough, we were able to combine with Citysville across from us and even went so far as to create two more cities to expand."

"How's that possible though? I mean Townsville bordered by the ocean, and then there's the island Citysville, so where else would there be to expand without completely depleting the forest reserves around the city?" Blossom asked.

To answer her, Gladys took out a map of the city, and to our surprise, there were two more cities, but it wasn't on land, but on _water_. There were large concrete pillars that supported the areas so that they didn't fall into the ocean and on the coastline of Townsville, you could still see the bridge that connected Townsville to Citysville, but instead of it being just one road going two ways like before, it split apart into a 4-way intersection to connect to the two new isolated regions. There were even two other roads on the sides of the two towns which directly connected them to both Citysville and Townsville.

"_Whoa"_ was all I could say. The whole thing was incredible. Who ever came up with this must've been a genius.

"Who was the dumbass in charge of this?" Buttercup demanded. When she saw our reactions she started to justify herself. "What? Who knows what could happen to these things? Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Hurricanes…!

"Someone's been watching too many movies…" Blossom snickered.

I tried to reassure her. "Calm down Buttercup. There's probably plenty of things for that if it happened. And plus, I think you were going a little overboard."

"Whatever." She scowled and sat back in her seat with a pout, obviously done with the conversation.

Gladys moved on. "Some officials in National Security decided to place you guys in a high rise flat in Townsville's Crescent Central, otherwise known as the mainland city of the four districts. We figured it would be easier for you guys to attend school in an area that isn't as crowded as the other three districts."

"School?" I said through numb lips. I haven't went to a public school since I was five, and that was in a room with eighteen students (excluding us), not thousands of them. I started getting nervous thinking about them staring at the clothes that I've had since I was little.

_They always stared._

_I was five years old. I loved singing, dancing, and playing dress-up with my sisters. And I was being charged for murder in the first degree. _

_We could see the looks on everybody's faces as they watched us enter the courtroom. The same people who though of us as celebrities were no glaring at us with silent blame._

_How could three heroes turn into monsters overnight?_

* * *

-Buttercup-

I tried to keep myself from smirking at my sisters' reactions . I mean I could understand Bubble's reaction (she's such a baby), but Blossom? Of course I shrugged it off. Making a big deal out of this would only make it worse on everybody else anyway.

Georgia tried to calm my sisters down, but she's only gonna make it worse. "I mean, of course you couldn't be expected to be homeschooled the entire time. In order to blend in with society, you'd have to learn to adapt in this fast paced environment, which is something you can't do stuck in an apartment all day!"

"S-she's right, Bubbles. We c-c-can do t-this, right?" Blossom stuttered and tried to place her hand on Bubbles' shoulder reassuringly, but Bubbles was already in her own little world, probably losing it by now.

So obviously, none of this crap was helping, and I didn't feel like sitting with leg cramps next to these two babies when we were already parked behind the apartment where we were staying.

"Well, as nice as this is… _Bye!_" and before anyone could react, I rushed out of the car with my Duffel bag. Taking a few steps outside of the car, I took in a deep breath of fresh air. _Freedom at Last…_

"Wait, Buttercup!"

Bubbles, who seemed to make a quick recovery, started running towards me with her giant Tote bag hanging from her flimsy shoulder.

"You left too soon for me to tell you the good news!" she beamed. I narrowed my eyes at her incredulously. What part in any of this is _good?_

"Gladys said after we drop off our bags we can all go to the mall to buy clothes for school!" she squealed as she gave me a giant bear hug, oblivious to the scowl on my face. She knows I hate the mall.

"I think I'll pass up that offer." I said as I turned on my heels towards the apartment's back entrance. For a bunch of old greedy geezers, they really went out of their way to make us feel at home. The flat was huge. According to the directory Gloria gave each of us, we got a place three levels below the penthouse –

"Come on, Buttercup! You _have_ to come!" Bubbles whined. I groaned loudly at her, hoping she'd get the point. It's noon, I'm hot as hell, I wanna go to bed, I'm tired, I smell like shit, my bag weighs a fucking ton, and my legs feel like fucking pretzels . I am NOT in the mood to go out and have a damn shopping spree!

So I tried to tell Bubbles one last time before I lost it. "Bubbles, _as fun as that sounds_, I've been sitting in a cooped up car for close to seven hours, so all I want to do is sit and watch TV, something I haven't done for years."

"Oh… well, okay." Bubbles said sadly with her head hanging down to the floor. "I mean.. if that's how you feel... then me and Blossom can just go. Would you mind taking me and Blossom's things upstairs then?" I nodded as she gave me her Tote bag and slowly dragged her feet towards the car for Blossom's things._ Typical_, I thought as I rolled my eyes.

"D… Do you know what our room number is?" she sniffed. "No," I responded flatly with my head turned, refusing to look at her. _Her little Guilt Trip was not going to work this time!_

"Buttercup…" she croaked as I could feel my eye twitch. Even with my eyes _closed _I could see the tears ready to fall. _Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it. Don't do it._

"Just bring your shit over here already so that we can go to this fucking place already!" As Bubbles let out another round of squeals and leaps, I inwardly cursed at myself for agreeing to hours of nonstop shopping.

_Oh Joy…_

* * *

By the time the three reached the mall (the Professor took it upon himself to unpack the girls' bags), it came as no surprise to Gladys that the girls were awestruck by the shopping center; after all, she reacted the same way.

The architect who built the expansion of Townsville, its two cities, and the high school they were going to attend also built the mall that stood right before them. From an aerial view it looked like a large circle broken up into four equal pieces with some space between all four of them. These four pieces were basically the shopping centers that made up the mall. In between each of those centers were steps that led down to the center of the mall; mostly known as the outdoor food court. With the trees, gardens, and fountains that decorated the place, it was definitely a sight to see.

"Oh…my…GOD!" Bubbles gasped. "This place is _gorgeous_! I don't even know where to go first!"

"How about the food court?" Blossom suggested holding her stomach. She didn't even get the time to eat breakfast, and she could hear her stomach starting to protest.

"That sounds like a good idea. I know a Chinese restaurant here that makes some amazing egg rolls." Gladys said. She glanced over at the two chattering excitedly and a smile lit up her face. She didn't know why, but seeing how happy the girls were after all the things they've been through made her heart warm. The way they acted seemed so familiar to her.

"Buttercup should be thankful I asked her to come, I'm sure there are a few stores here that would suit her style." Bubbles said loftily as she twirled her pigtails in the line.

"You make it sound like she had a choice," Blossom scoffed. "Where is she by the way?"

"Oh, she told me to let you guys know that she was going to head for the library in one of the centers. Now, would you guys like shrimp fried rice or pork…" Gladys stopped as she turned to see the two girls staring back at her with dubious looks. "Did I say something wrong?"

"Buttercup at…"

"…the _Library?_" Bubbles finished.

"Well, I never took her for the type either, but she was headed straight into the entrance last time I saw her. She said she'd meet us at Casual Apparel, which I suppose is the first place we're going to be heading to."

"We needed clothes for school anyway. When are we going, by the way?" Blossom asked.

"Tomorrow. So the best time to do some quick shopping would be today."

Bubbles and Blossom exchanged horrified looks. "_Forget the food!_ We need to get new clothes _**now**_!" And with that, she grabbed Blossom and ran to the nearest stores despite her fading protests.

"H-Hey! Bubb-Brooke, stop! STOP! _WHAT ABOUT MY FOOD!_"

_Poor Blossom._ Gladys started to chuckle to herself, finding that she might actually have the 'maternal affection' the Professor once claimed.

_I might as well grab something for Blossom and the others, knowing how hungry they'll be after this._ But as she was waiting in line, she kept thinking about the horrifying images she saw at Western Pines, and the grave threat that came with it.

* * *

I decided to cut this chapter into two separate pieces because it was getting a little long. But no worries! I'll definitely have the next one up a lot sooner than this one. So, I hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review!


	4. Embarking in the Waters of the Unknown-2

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

Let me say that you might not always get a weekly update. I'm in this program (IB) in school which basically takes the high school curriculum and speeds it up to the college level. So I have projects, orals, and a shitload of essays before I'll be free for college, not to mention that I have other extracurricular activities that I do (can't stay cornered up with this computer all the time -as fun as that sounds…-). Long story short, I won't always be updating like this and wanted to give you a heads up, but you can at least be expecting once a month. Hope you enjoyed and don't forget to review!

* * *

Chapter 4: Embarking in the Waters of the Unknown

_*Eight hours earlier, prior to their visit at McCoy's Military Academy …*_

"_Oh my God…"_

Gladys had asked the Professor to tell her the backgrounds of the girls in full detail, but when the Professor refused to discuss it then, she took matters into her own hands. Entering the vacant room of the second child, she knew she had to expect the worse; a few marks left on the wall, couple things thrown over.

To say the girl was disturbed was an understatement.

Not a single piece of the wall came out unscathed; being either marked with punches, or stained with the dried blood dripping from where the indents seemed strongest. She took out every single frustration, every slight agitation, on the abused interior to the point of where most of them overlapped one another.

"Like I said; she's had some problems adjusting…" Gladys turned to see the Professor slowly walk inside of his daughter's room still holding his grave expression from before.

"Are you sure it's just _some_, sir?" Gladys questioned. _This girl clearly had more issues than he let on._

When he didn't answer her, she walked towards him and lowered her voice. "Professor Utonium, with all due respect to you and your girls, my first priority is the safety of the **_public_**, so I need to know what made your girls so frightening to the citizens that they virtually gave them a death sentence."

He was about to protest, but seeing the look in her eye he consented with a deep sigh. He motioned towards the bed "Sit, this'll take a lot longer than you think." Gladys did so hesitantly.

The Professor then joined her at the foot of the bed before he began. "I suppose it all started at a recital for Bubbles and her sonic scream came out just as she reached a sharp key on the piano. Her body was covered in these weird glowing symbols and it terrified everyone, including herself. She would never leave her bed; convinced she was some monster even though it only lasted a couple of minutes. We called it _Suscitatio_, or an Awakening. Left people deaf for months. Was all over the news for some time, too. Luckily, she was forgiven. No harm done.

The Professor paused as he raised his head to where the punctured wall stood before him, the images flooding back into his memory. "But I never expected Chemical X to affect their bodies the way that it did. I started to conduct extensive research on Bubbles and saw that her powers didn't just get stronger, but they were going to continue to grow in various aspects. She wasn't going to just fly and shoot laser beams, and I knew I had to expect the same for Blossom and Buttercup. So I waited for what was going to happen."

"And soon enough it did happen a few years after we left the city. At the age of 12, Blossom discovered that she had the ability to manipulate space under the form of certain defense mechanisms, or in other words 'shields.' And Buttercup…"

"…Well?"

He shrugged. "That's just it; she's never had an Awakening."

"So… she just doesn't have any special powers?"

"Well, there are a few theories. Either she just doesn't have any special powers, like you said, or Buttercup's more of what you would call a… 'slow reactor'." Upon seeing Gladys's skeptical look, he explained further. "According to the pattern, the longer it takes to develop your abilities, the stronger it becomes. Controlling sound and vibration is amazing, but what would that be compared to control over _space? _And if this pattern did exist-"

"-Then Buttercup would have the potential of being the strongest out of the three."

"And," he added, "We'd be one step closer to knowing what happened to her ten years ago."

Gladys looked out of the window and tried to picture being in their situation: Always being mocked and ridiculed like they were caged animals.

"They never had a childhood, did they?"

The Professor shook his head sadly. "There's a reason why we're avoided so strongly here. We showed signs that we were different from the minute we showed up at the entrance." His tone began to fill with the bitter resentment grown from years of exile. "No matter how hard I tried for them, they were always known as '_freaks_,' '_monsters_,' he paused at the last word, '_Murderers…_'"

The chemist kept his head lowered as he took out a picture of him and the girls smiling with the Mayor and Ms. Bellum for New Years, not sure what to make of the new circumstances. "Am I doing the right thing? Taking them away from here?"

Gladys turned to see the conflicted man sitting on the bed with his arms on his knees, looking at the floor as though it had the answers for him. She returned to her place on the bed to meet his face and stated in a firm voice. "Professor Utonium, there's no life for them here in this town. This could be the best option they have, and there might never be another opportunity like this! You can see that, can't you? "

He stared back at her intensely. "Gladys… have you ever had any kids?"

She was taken aback by the question, and remained speechless for a minute. "Uh… well, no Professor."

He looked unconvinced. "Odd, I was expecting something different. Which is why I wanted to ask you something. Consider it as a request for advice."

Gladys raised remained doubtful, but was willing to listen. _What advice could I possibly give?_

The Professor gazed at the window with a distant expression. "What do you do when you see your children's lives starting to slip from your grasp, but you can't do a thing to stop it? Would you throw away the only identity they've ever known and force them to become something that they're not? Or would you let them stay here with the hope that maybe, just _maybe_… people could accept them with time. With time, they could finally accept the fate dealt to them and move on."

Noting her silence, the Professor locked eyes with her for the last time to make his point. "So I'll ask you again, Gladys, am I doing the right thing? Letting them go to a city that wanted them dead?"

He then took his cane and left as Gladys stayed on the bed, staring at the walls that glared at her angrily. She let out a deep breath as she realized she could never put herself in the Professor's position to answer him truthfully.

* * *

-Buttercup-

"**_TOWNSVILLE CITIZENS ANXIOUSLY AWAIT THE 25TH ANNUAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EXPOSITION-"_**

Blah.

"**_BANK ROBBERIES CONTINUE ON A RAMPAGE IN TOWNS-"_**

Blah.

"**_AIR FORCE GENERAL SCOTT KELLY RETIRES AFTER 25 YEARS OF LOYAL –"_**

"_BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!_" Why is it so hard to find news on the government? Then I noticed a search engine sitting right at the top of the page that could've cut my search down by an hour. Why would they make the damn thing so small, anyway?

"_Po…li…tics"_ When I clicked enter, a ton of links came out, most of them about some election going on. I looked at the screen trying to decide which one to choose. _Have to pick carefully…_

"_Eenie…Meanie….Minnie… you!" _So I picked the first one.

"**_CANDIDATE GEORGE WILLIS' HAUNTING WORDS LEAVE TOWNSVILLE (AND INCUMBENT MONROE MORGAN) ON ITS GUARD."_**

I stared at the article for a moment. _What the fuck was an incumbent?_

This was going to take longer than I thought.

But it wasn't so hard to understand after looking up a few words and rereading the article a couple of times. Within an hour, everything made sense to me. _So predictable,_ I thought as I shook my head. _Nothing but a bunch of cowards_. After it was done printing, I grabbed the article and left to meet the others.

_Can't wait to see the look on that lying bitch's face when I show her this!_

* * *

-Blossom-

**_-To my body, in my body-aah…_**

**_(Can you feel it?)_**

**_Can you feel it in your body-aah…_**

**_(Can you feel it?)_**

'**_Cuz I can feel it in my body-aah…_**

**_(I can feel it)_**

**_It feels good to my body-aah…_**

"Blossom! Blossom! Check out this blouse I saw in _Veronica's_!"

I could feel a migraine coming as I let out a deep sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you_, Brooke_? 'Blossom' doesn't exist, _remember_?" Of course, it's going to take some time getting used to our new names, but it's something that had to be taken seriously. Making mistakes like that in such a public place wasn't going to cut it.

"Oh, right! Sorry." Bubbles said sheepishly. I turned around to see my youngest sister carrying six bags filled to the brim with clothes, and the shirt nowhere in sight. "Where's the blouse?"

"It's in one of these bags. I think I left it in the _ShoeWorld_ one, or did I leave it back at _Formal Emporium_…?"

"Brooke, maybe it's about time you started to _try on _the clothes before you buy them." I advised. Sure, Gladys is letting us buy whatever we want, but the least I could do is make sure we were actually using her money properly.

"What are we waiting for then!? Here take these, they're for you!" fifty pounds of clothes were roughly dropped onto my chest. "I'll meet you in the dressing rooms!" and she disappeared just as soon as she showed up.

Fifty pounds wasn't a real problem for me, but it was still a lot more than I was used to carrying. How can Bubbles walk all over this place with _double_ the weight?

_Not my problem, _I figured as I walked towards the fitting rooms to see Bubbles waiting impatiently for me with _two more_ shopping bags filled at the same level. It was obvious by then what she was doing.

"Took you long enough! Man, I have twice your baggage and I'm going twice as fast!" _I wonder why_. I reasoned that I'd give her a short lecture for using her powers when we got home.

"Let's just try out these clothes already." I grumbled, fed up with this whole shopping spree.

But within another half hour though, I was back to laughing with my little sister like nothing happened. Impersonating celebrities we knew as kids, dressing up in goofy clothes, taking silly pictures.

**_Can you feel the high…..?_**

**_(I can feel the high…)_**

**_Can you feel the high…..?_**

**_(I can feel the high…..)_**

Bubbles gasped when she heard the Black Eyes Peas singing from the speakers. "_Ohmigod!_ I know all the words to this song! Sing it with me!"

"No thanks, I'm perfectly fine sitting!" I giggled.

"Fine! Suit yourself." Bubbles started to twirl gracefully in step with the music as I stared in awe. I couldn't even remember the last time she _sang,_ much less danced.

"_La-da doo-dooooo… La-dah do-daa-a-ahh…."_ she sang with the vocals as she danced around our cramped fitting room. For once it was like we were normal teenagers. To be able to laugh and sing out loud, run outside, eat in public, do crazy dances.

_So this is what it feels like_, I thought to myself. It was so… _liberating_.

_No_,_ we can't be who we were before, but nothing's free in this world._ _Besides, who wants to be hated all the time anyway?_ I laid down on the bench and watched my sister as she danced, thinking about how miserable we all were just a day ago. I could only wish that time would stop for this one moment so that we didn't have to leave.

_Maybe it won't be so bad here_.

* * *

As the two girls went inside the dressing rooms, Gladys had just entered the clothing store, grateful that she made it before she lost sight of them.

She would have to remind herself to give the investigators back at the Unit a personal note of thanks for their profiles on the girls. It was spot on to every detail.

_::Bubbles::_

_Approx Height: 65 inches (165.10 centimeters)_

_Approx Weight: 114 pounds_

_Appearance: Pale skin, light blue eyes, and blond tight curls_

_Behavior/Personality: the youngest of the group Cheerful, optimistic, curious and very sensitive_

_Possible Activities: Dancing, Cheerleading , Chorus, and Drama_

_::Blossom::_

_Approx Height: 67 inches (170.18 centimeters)_

_Approx Weight: 117 pounds_

_Appearance: light copper red hair going down to the back, porcelain skin, abnormally pink eyes_

_Behavior/Personality: The Leader of the group. Gifted, studious, hard-working, but at times dictative_

_Possible Activities: Debate, Student Council, Journalism, and National Honors Society_

Even from the entrance she could see the smiles etched onto their faces, giving her a sense of nostalgia for a minute.

Her expression started to grimace as she looked towards the next profile.

_::Buttercup::_

_Approx Height: 64 inches (162.56 centimeters)_

_Approx Weight: 120_

_Appearance: Short jet black hair, light green eyes with slightly tanner skin._

_Behavior/Personality: Rebellious, Stubborn, short tempered, very athletic and aggressive_

_Possible Activities: Flag Football, Lacrosse, Soccer, and other sports of the like_

_**Additional Info** Invest in anger-management classes._

"Enjoying yourself?"

Gladys jumped to see the tomboy enter the store in a cool manner with one hand in her pocket and the other holding a set of documents.

"Oh. I see you and your father are just alike. I was jus–"

"Save it, I don't care. Gertrude, why are you here?"

Gladys gave her an odd look. _Gertrude? _"It's Gladys, and Buttercup I think that–"

"It's Bree."

"What?"

"The name I picked, Bree. But you never answered my question." Buttercup walked a few steps closer as she waited for Gladys's answer.

Gladys proceeded skeptically "Okay _Bree_, we both know why I'm here."

"Because…"

"Because I'm here as an escort." The agent responded warily.

"Are you sure about that Glennis?"

"It's _Gladys_," she replied sternly, growing agitated with this interrogation. "And I don't see why I wouldn't be."

Buttercup snorted at her answer, as though it were a joke. "Because I happen to have proof that this is all total bullshit."

Gladys raised her brows dubiously. "Oh _really?_"

"Yeah, _really_."

"Then by all means," Gladys scoffed as she sat back on one of the benches with a hand motioning towards the documents. "Show me this 'proof' you have because it appears you figured everything out."

"Well if you must know, I just happened to be in the library and figured I should look up some current events on the city, you know to keep myself up to date, when I went into some articles about an election for the upcoming Mayor," the military student explained in an elated tone.

Gladys lowered her gaze on her slightly, pushing her to continue.

"So, imagine my surprise when I see George Willis art talking about some 'conspiracy towards Townsville' and how 'this city was built on lies.' I mean, I don't know about you, but I can only think of one thing that's big enough to make the incumbent ready to piss his pants." She held out the papers in her hand to offer Gladys. "You can read it yourself, it's quite something." Gladys paused for a minute as she put the pieces together.

Taking advantage of her hesitation, Buttercup approached the bench with her arms crossed to where Gladys was sitting. "You know, you never really answer my question Gladys, or is that your real name? In fact, a better question would be who you even work for: This Willis guy who wants to use us as blackmail to score a seat in one of the top cities in the country? Or is it that dwarf's grandson who's desperate to keep the secret under wraps?" The news must've been only a few days old; Gladys had never been told any of this.

Her train of thought was broken by Buttercup's scowl. "You people make me _sick_, you know that? Sitting here tryin to be BFFs with my sisters, when they don't even know you're just using them for the same shit we've been trying to get ourselves out of for the past _decade!_ _Doesn't that mean anything to you?!_"

Anger swelled inside of the agent as she stood to face the infuriated youth. "Of course it does! I volunteered to do this Buttercup-!"

"_It's Bree-!"_

"–_Whatever!" _Gladys snapped before quickly composed herself and faced Buttercup once again. "Listen. You can yell, scream, and curse the day I even came on this earth, but _I'm still here, _and the sort of crap you're pulling your hair over _doesn't involve me_. _I'm Just Following Orders._"

The two glowered at each other for a moment before Gladys continued, ready to end this nonsense. "And if you REALLY have such a problem with living in a first-class apartment and going to one of the best schools in the country, _both which would've cost a fortune might I add_, then you can go straight to Mayor yourself and ruin the best thing to happen to you and your sisters in a long time!"

Buttercup's fists were shaking as she tried to find a comeback, but could only watch as Gladys motioned her arm towards the door, daring her to leave and prove her wrong, her final response clear.

_Choice is all yours, baby._

"What's going on?"

Both Gladys and Buttercup turned to see the two sisters holding over a dozen shopping bags. Bubbles was already squealing to Buttercup about all the stuff they bought for her, but Blossom's gaze was still fixed on Gladys.

"Did something happen between you two?"

Gladys's glanced towards Buttercup for a minute, already knowing her choice in the matter. "Nothing. Buttercup and I just had a little misunderstanding."

Blossom snorted. "Don't worry; a lot of people have _'misunderstandings'_ with Buttercup. Speaking of which," Blossom turned to her sister, "Buttercup, are there any stores you wanted to go to? This could be your last chance to get anything."

Just because she lost an argument didn't mean she should skip out on the chance of getting free clothes. So after a long silence, Buttercup finally spoke.

"Is there a Hot Topic around here?"

* * *

-Buttercup-

I bought a couple of shirts and jeans so that I didn't waste anyone's time in coming, but all I wanted to do was punch that little smirk right off that bitch's face. When we left the store, all I could think about was what happened. I didn't know what made the situation worse: the fact that I didn't have a choice in this, or the fact that she KNEW I didn't have a choice in this.

I mean of course I couldn't go to City Hall! What would I say? _Thanks for paying for that incredible apartment and all, but I'd rather go back to the boonies where everybody wanted to lynch us. Preciate It!_ It was a lose-lose situation, and the only thing I could do was grit my teeth and step aside to let these assholes control my family yet again.

"Oh hey, look, there's fireworks!" Bubbles gasped as she pointed towards the sky.

When I looked up to where her hand was rockets tore up the sky in bright lights. Soon, everyone crowded the area to see the show with their cameras and phones close to film the whole scene.

"What's the occasion?" Blossom asked

"There's always something happening down here, occasions aren't really needed." Gladys explained with a shrug, already used to the daily life in Townsville.

I looked towards my sisters as they watched the show, wishing I never looking up that article. How could I ever tell them the truth about our situation? How in over ten years, we're still nothing but a couple pawns to these people? And I knew I couldn't. No matter how much I hated the way things turned out, I couldn't sacrifice my sisters being happy.

I stole a glance at Blossom for a moment. _So this is what she has to deal with_, and for a brief second I felt nothing but respect for her.

I looked towards Bubbles to see her looking a little depressed. "Bubbles, what's up?" Blossom started to face her with the same concern.

"It's just…" She turned to me and Blossom with a sad smile. "I remember when Townsville used to do these sort of things just for us."

_Goddammit. _I felt a lump in my throat as a sickening wave of nostalgia hit me.

"Well, get used to it!" I snapped, getting both Blossom and Bubble's attention. "Townsville's moved on, remember?" With my head hung low, I let myself go back to the times when people cheered for us, knowing those days were long gone. "They don't need us anymore," I muttered to myself.

And for the rest of the time, we looked out on the fireworks in silence, remembering what used to be our lives.

* * *

-Blossom-

After the fireworks, Gladys went to sit with my sisters with the Chinese food she bought for us. I lost my appetite, so I skipped out on the food. I checked the time using the phone Gladys bought me. _8:07_. I was walking through the deserted streets with nothing but a cellphone and a map until I finally found what I was searching for. The sign was spelled out in big letters on an old abandoned Overthrow gate.

_Townsville FairMeadow Cemetery:_

_ Don't run from your demons, make peace with them._

Townsville couldn't have picked a better location. Right at the northern outskirts of Townsville was where the cemetery bordered the forest to its right. On its left was the cliff right beside the ocean, capturing the moonlight sky flawlessly. With the cemetery a few steps down from the main gate, I took in the setting of the cemetery from a raised viewpoint to see tombstones lining for days, not even knowing where to start.

"Didn't expect to see you here."

I turned back to see Buttercup gazing out on the cliffside as she walked towards me. From the very moment she came from the academy she wore this faraway expression on her face and walked much slower than she used to, albeit in a laid-back manner. Her bright green eyes were glazed over with signs of pain still present, but not nearly as much as it used to be. Her overall appearance wasn't exactly peaceful or serene, but rather callous and uncaring to the world. How come I was only noticing this now? In as short as nine months, it was like I was staring at a whole different person.

"Ten years, huh?" she went on, never taking her eyes off the scenery. I joined her as we both looked out at the ocean before us.

"It feels a lot longer though." I responded. A chilling breeze started to blow from the sea as I rubbed my arms to stop the goose bumps from showing.

She nodded slowly as a silence followed shortly. "I'm sorry, by the way."

I shrugged it off, knowing there were more important things to worry about. "It's old news. Let's just try to find it."

And for a while it was just us two looking through the tombstones in silence, until I saw a pair of blond pigtails recklessly looking from every tombstone like she was looking for a lost possession.

"Bubbles." She froze to see me and Buttercup staring at her and stammered for an excuse.

"Oh! I'm sorry-! You see… I was just-!"

"Looking for something?" Buttercup smirked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then maybe we should look together." I suggested with a small giggle. A grin spread across her face as she sighed with relief, grateful that she wasn't the only one thinking of visiting a cemetery. It's times like these where I feel closest to my sisters.

But it was a lot harder than it looked. The grassy hills kept covering over half the tombstones to the point of where you could only see the head, making the search double the time. After an hour, I started to rip through the fields in frustration until I closed my eyes to focus. _Think big Blossom, there's no way they'd dedicate a memorial with just one tombstone._ And just like that, I saw the head of what looked to be the monument placed right on the ledge of the cliff at the corner of the cemetery. It did take a while flying across the entire cemetery to where the memorial was, but when I finally reached it and removed the grass covering the area, I froze as I witnessed something that made my blood run cold.

* * *

"Where's Blossom?"

"Hell if I know." Buttercup mumbled through the grass. "But if I don't find this thing in the next two minutes I'm going home!" How hard could it be to find a stupid tombstone?

"_Girls!"_

Bubbles raised her head with alarm, "That sounded like her!" and flew off after the voice.

"Hey- Wait!" Buttercup protested as she ran after Bubbles. "I thought we weren't supposed to be using our-" but with Bubbles long gone she let out a groan and flew after her.

A few moments later they saw a huge monument in front of their sister and couldn't contain their excitement.

"You found it!" Bubbles exclaimed

"Way to go, Pinky!"

"This isn't the Pokey Oaks memorial …" she whispered softly.

As Buttercup and Bubbles noticed her grave look, they turned their attention towards the monument and started to lose the color from their faces.

There, lying right in front of the girls laid three statues of the girls as five year olds in their signature poses, a symbol of justice for the city, with their signature quotes at the bottom.

…_Commander and the Leader…The Joy and Laughter…The Toughest Fighter… A Tragic end to the World's Greatest Heroines…_

"It's ours."

Time halted when the girls read the tombstone, unable to acknowledge what was right in front of them.

"It's impossible…" Bubbles whispered as a tear slipped down her cheek

"I thought Gladys said everyone forgot about us…" Buttercup said as she narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"And they have." Blossom responded motioning towards the condition of the gravestone. "This monument was probably made right after we left under the assumption that our sentence went through."

"Well, someone remembered." Buttercup knelt towards the monument and picked up three small white calla lilies which were hidden behind the tall grass surrounding their monument. "These flowers are fresh. Could've been placed just a week ago."

For a while all they heard were the waves crash with the breeze as they tried to make sense of the situation.

"So…" Bubbles turned towards her sisters with anticipation. "…now what?"

"What do you mean?" The copper haired girl replied. "Everything's going to stay the same."

"But Blossom, we just can't deny-"

"I'm not saying we deny it, Bubbles!" she snapped, irritated with the whole situation. "I'm just saying we don't _mention_ it." It was clear to her that Gladys couldn't be trusted, not when she withheld something so important to the girls. "From now on, the only people we can confide in are each other."

"What about the Professor?" Bubbles asked.

"Not even him." She hated how deceitful she was being towards the Professor, but she had to look out for her sisters, and after this morning the Professor getting involved would just be another liability. She held her hand outwards to make the pact. "Swear?"

Buttercup's hand followed soon after, in full agreement with her sister for the first time. "Swear." She responded firmly.

They both turned towards Bubbles, who was hesitant to turn on her father. Blossom gave her a look saying _It's the only way_. She slowly added her hand and answered in a soft voice.

"Swear"

* * *

The next morning all the girls had their stuff packed for school…

…which was about to start in 10 minutes.

"_BUTTERCUP!"_ Blossom yelled as she continued to kick the mound of pillows and blankets. "GET YOUR LAZY ASS OUT OF BED! WE'RE ABOUT TO BE LATE!"

"_FUCK OFF!"_ she yelled from under her pillows with her hands gripping the bed frame to balance herself.

The redhead stood back trying to find something better to use besides her foot. She refused to be tardy on the first day!

"Allow me," Bubbles whispered to Blossom, who stepped back to let her proceed. Blossom then covered her ears with a muffled laugh.

**_"WAAAKE UUUP!"_**

Bubbles sonic scream knocked Buttercup right off the bed and ricocheted off the walls, breaking every piece of glass in the room, including the windows. Bubbles turned to Blossom nervously, "Was it too much?"

_"'Was it_ _too much?'" _Buttercup mimicked from the floor._ "YOU BLEW OUT MY FUCKING EARDRUMS!" _she screeched

Blossom beamed towards her little sister. "It was perfect." Despite the car alarms and faint curses occurring from down below, Blossom could care less so long as Buttercup was awake. Her expression hardened as she faced her agitated sister. "You have TWO MINUTES before we leave you!"

"That was kind of what I was hoping for…" Buttercup muttered as she rolled her eyes, but still left for the bathroom.

* * *

-Two Minutes Later… 7:22

"_Bye Professor!_" the girls called out before running for the door.

"Wait, but I was going to drop you guys off!"

Bubbles gave the Professor an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Professor, but we have no idea where we are! If you dropped us off, we'd never get to school on time, so Gladys is going to drop us. You can drop us off tomorrow morning." And with that she sped off to meet Blossom and Gladys.

_But tomorrow morning won't be the same…_ he pouted to himself.

"_Shit!"_ The Professor looked to see Buttercup tearing the sofas in search of her backpack. "Where the hell is it?"

"You mean this?" he answered as he lifted the black Jansport bag. "And can you tone it down on the profanity?"

"Sorry," she mumbled as she grabbed her bag to meet the others. But just as she was getting ready to open the front door-

"-Forgot something."

She turned to the professor with her arms crossed as she waited for him to reveal the item that was so important for the first day.

The Professor pulled out a loose choker necklace with the green crystal heart pendant hanging from the end of the strap. It was one of the three the Professor had specially made for the girls, each suited to their style.

"I was afraid you forgot about this old thing." He added upon seeing her recognize the piece of jewelry.

"Never," she said firmly as she fastened the locket onto her neck. It sat below the middle of the neck with the locket reaching down to the center of her collarbone.

They both looked towards the door as they heard the horn of the Professor's 1969 Dodge Charger, telling Buttercup she didn't have much time.

"See ya," she said as she headed for the door.

"Oh and for the record…" , Buttercup turned exasperatedly to see what else she's left.

"I think Bree is a lovely name." he smiled gently.

She soon returned the favor and left as she heard Blossom shrieking from the car, glad to see the Professor relax for the first time they've been here.

* * *

-Five Minutes Later… 7:27

"Are we almost there yet?"

"Yes, Blossom, we're here." Gladys replied calmly. "You do know that the school gives you an excused absence, right?"

"Who cares?! Let's go!"

As they entered the school's Main Gate, it didn't come as a surprise to see how big the school was, but the design was definitely elaborate, just like everything else in Townsville.

"Whoa…" Bubbles whispered.

"There's no time to look girls! We need to get to class, the whole courtyard's empty!" Blossom cried.

Buttercup responded by rolling her eyes. "Relax, Pinky, we still have a few more minutes."

"_Do you even have any idea where our first class is?!_" she screeched as she motioned towards the map of the school she had in her hand. "We're on the third floor of the last building, we'll be lucky to make it there even _with_ our powers!"

With that being said she was already sprinting towards the building where their class was, with the two sisters following closely after her. After running across the courtyard and going up three flights of stair, Blossom came to abrupt stop at the door to her classroom and felt a surge of relief. _Thirty seconds to spare! _She took that time to straighten her clothes and hair and prepared to make a composed entrance…

"_MOVE IT PINKY!"_

"_BUTTERCUP, WAIT! …"_

* * *

-7:30, just as the late bell started…

The class could only stare in astonishment at the three girls that just crashed onto the floor in a daze, their papers flying everywhere.

Despite how lost the girls may have seemed, they weren't the only ones as Brick, Butch, and Boomer looked upon their new arrivals with astonishment, at a loss for what to say.

* * *

That song that was referenced from before was called "Feel It" by The Black Eyed Peas._ Christ,_ what a long chapter! But I wouldn't consider it one of my favorites, though. I was going to break it up a bit more, but I figured that it was better to let it all off in one go. As for the RRB reference, I had always planned to include them, _but in due time_. After all, my plot's all about the Powerpuff Girls for a reason. And it won't be just a plot about high school drama; I'm making that my main goal for this story.

So what will happen when they speak to each other? Next time you'll get to see a different set of POVs! Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to review! :-D


	5. Nothing is as it Seems

Yeah, I know I'm late. With college applications and assessment deadlines, my life's a little hectic, but I hope it wasn't too long a wait for you guys. Besides, this is 11,000 words! I think that makes up for me being late.

Responding to 'A Simple Conundrum', I fixed the problems you said, but feel free to respond if you notice any problems. As for your questions, I'm happy to see you paying so much attention, but I do have a counterargument to what you said.

For one thing, the RRB have selective hearing. It'd be pretty annoying if you heard everything all the time, so they use their heightened senses whenever they feel like it's needed. So after several years, they could've gotten a bit more relaxed and don't use their powers as often. Also, Blossom yells out to Buttercup right at the start of the bell, meaning even if they had been using their senses, the bell might've blocked out Blossom's voice when she yelled out to Buttercup. Thank you for your review though, it was very thoughtful

Note: there is profane language (thus the T rating) and there's a legend if there's any confusion. I also decided to change the chapter number to chapter 4 because FanFiction can't have a 3.5, so here's chapter 5!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

* * *

Chapter 5: Nothing Is As It Seems

_As the class went through its daily clamor, the instructor casually walked to the front of the room and calmly raised his hand as the room turned silent._

"Alright. Now before we start today's lesson we're going to have a few new students arriving to our class, and they should be here-"

A loud thud interrupted his brief statement as the three girls burst through the door and toppled over each other in a cluster of papers and books that flew daintily to the floor just as the late bell rang. For a moment everyone was stunned, however Brick Jojo stared at their newcomers with unusual suspicion as the strange feeling inside of him grew.

"Nice going, Blossy." Buttercup muttered under her breath as she stood up.

"_Me?_ This is all _your_ fault!" Blossom sharply retaliated.

"Well maybe if you didn't stop right in front of the door I wouldn't have hit you!"

"I don't think a 5'6 redhead is hard to miss!"

"_Ladies?"_ The girls turned their heads to see the entire class staring at them and the teacher looking anything but amused. "I assume your performance is over?"

"Yes sir!" Blossom responded quickly. "We thoroughly apologize."

"Don't let it happen again. At West Coast High we expect nothing but the best in students, both in academics _and punctuality_."

Blossom swallowed a lump in her throat at the sound of his harsh tone. She knew which teacher she was going to be avoiding. "Y-yes sir, we understand complete-"

"That's _Mr. __Hollingberry_ to you."

"E…Excuse me?" Blossom sputtered as she tried to ignore her sisters snickering from behind.

"You heard correctly!" Mr. Hollingberry looked angrily towards Bubbles and Buttercup. "Does it sound like I'm making a joke!?"

"N-n…no!" the redhead stammered trying to keep what was left of their reputation. "We just aren't accustomed to such a… a unique name like yours."

"Well then I assume you did familiarize yourselves with the winter report."

"What!" she cried. "We're new here we didn't-"

"I informed your guardians well before you were supposed to arrive that you needed to turn in a report of at least 3500 words. What they didn't tell you will reflect poorly on your fist grades. In fact, without this grade, there might not be a chance for you graduating this year."

"P-please Mr. Hollingberry," Blossom begged through her shaky voice, unsure of how to accept failure on the first day. "If there's a chance we might be able to make this up in any way…" she stopped as she saw her teacher –and the entire class– collapse in laughter.

He breathed out in between his bursts of laughter, leaving the three students in a mix between confusion and complete humiliation at the cruel joke. "Oh man… I'm sorry. I just… I just lost it when she said it herself…! _Mr. Hollingberry…!_"

When he finally composed himself he turned to his new victims with a wide grin. "I was actually going to end it at Mr. Hollingberry, but seeing how gullible you guys were, I wanted to see how far I could go with it. But fear not, you aren't alone! All of these kids fell for the same prank on the first day. So I don't see why _their_ laughing!" he spoke loudly as he glared at his students. Blossom noticed that the only person who wasn't laughing was a tanned student with long auburn hair that kept his eyes locked on her, sending chills down her spine.

_Okaaay… Creepy.._

"By the way that entrance you did five minutes ago; _Genius._ I love the spontaneity of it! Who wants to come in _walking_ anyway!" The teacher snorted. Blossom managed a shy smile, unsure if whether or not their instructor was giving them a compliment or just being sarcastic.

The teacher turned with his arms raised to the class. "Any inquiries for our fabulous new students!?" he asked.

For a moment the students looked like statues as an uncomfortable silence ensued. Brick almost considered raising his hand to see where they're from, but realized how absurd that might've been; they would've easily recognized him if they saw him before. How many guys do you see with hair below their shoulders? But in the back of his mind he knew he felt weird about these girls, almost anxious in a way.

A hand shot up in the air.

"Are you guys narcs?" a voice called out before the crowd burst into fits of laughter, breaking the stiff atmosphere.

"Do we look like narcs to you?" Buttercup demanded as she turned to glare at Butch, who sat in the back row next to an empty seat.

"Look, I'm just voicin' out the class opinion here," the jock said with a smirk on his face.

Murmurs spread throughout the class in agreement. Coming to school in the middle of January wasn't what you would call normal. Blossom sighed in disappointment at how things were turning out. Five minutes haven't even passed and everyone thought they were undercover cops.

The schoolteacher dismissed their suspicions as he faced the three once again. "Let's start this over, now shall we?" He held out an outstretched hand to introduce himself. "Mr. Harvey. English instructor, part-time waiter, bartender, and agent to a local band called The Reckless, but enough about me! Your name?"

The other two couldn't respond, so Blossom naturally had to be the first. "Uhh… Well my name's- AAAHH!" Mr. Harvey suddenly grabbed her hand and practically threw her in front of the class.

"Why so shy? Announce your name! You hold the spotlight!" And with that Mr. Harvey vanished into the background, leaving her and her sisters in a daze.

When Blossom finally turned to see the class, she noticed its irregular shape for one thing. Rather than the typical square classroom she was accustomed to, it was actually bean-shaped, with the windows coming off the rounded edges of the classroom. The seats were aligned in a curved direction facing the front of the room which was elevated by a few steps so that the teacher stood a few feet above the students. The teacher's desk and the curved board stood behind Blossom as she began to introduce herself in an elated tone.

"My name's Brianne. I'm 16 and the eldest out of us three." She finished her intro with a bright smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Beautiful!"Mr. Harvey applauded from the back of the room. "Take you seat wherever you like." He was pleased to see her voluntarily take a seat right at the front row. It's always nice to have a teacher's pet once in a while "Who's next?"

Bubbles timidly ascended the two steps and stood to face the class. "My name's uh, Brooklynn, and I'm the youngest." She mumbled before taking the closest seat to the windows.

Buttercup sauntered to the front. "I'm Bree. Whatever." She went to take a seat in the back section of the room. Butch raised his head to see the black haired girl sit in the empty seat next to him.

"Taken."

She ignored him and dropped her bag next to the desk.

"I said _the seat's taken_." He growled louder.

"Don't see anybody's name on it," she retorted without giving him a second glance.

Before Butch could respond, Mr. Harvey cast a scolding look in his direction. "Blayke! Haven't your parents ever told you not to be rude to strangers! Besides that student's skipped so many times I can't even remember his name."

_::Attention Classes::_

The intercom went off inside of the classroom as the principal made the daily announcements. As the class waited patiently for the announcements to end, Butch continued to give Buttercup dirty looks for taking his friend's seat.

_We will now have a moment of silence as this week marks the ten year anniversary of the tragic incident at Pokey Oaks Kindergarten Care where seventeen children passed in their unfortunate deaths._

As the silence ensued, the lump in Bubbles's throat started to grow in overwhelming remorse; starting a new life in the town that they traumatized would never sit right for her, and to think that she was sitting in a chair that could've belonged to Robyn or Mike made her feel even worse. She looked down at her toes and tried to stay positive. It's been ten years. They couldn't stay in Western Pines for the rest of their lives, right?

She broke her train of thought and raised her head as she noticed something was off. _Seventeen students?_ The young sibling looked at Blossom and Buttercup to see that they had the same confusion. It was supposed to be _eighteen_ students. For something so tragic to Townsville they could've at least made sure they were accurate! She was sure a lot of parents were going to have complaints sent to the school about this.

_And that marks the end of the announcements. Don't forget to give our new students a warm welcome to West Coast High!_

"I believe we did just that, my fellow students," Mr. Harvey said. "Now before we start – **BRANDON!**"

Boomer's head shot up from his slumber to see the class staring at him and took notice of the new faces, especially the blond in front of him. His interest broke off when he noticed Mr. Harvey getting even angrier at his distraction.

"Uhhh… sir?" he responded cautiously, uncertain of what to say.

"What is your favorite part of this novel?" Mr. Harvey inquired curiously as he sat on the edge of the edge of Butch's desk, where Butch also stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

Boomer mumbled the first response he could think of. "Umm.. the pictures?" There was a moment of silence as Mr. Harvey considered this in deep thought. The blond teen gulped nervously. There's no telling how his bipolar teacher might react.

The very next minute he gave Boomer a cheerful grin."Great! I thought I was the only one. Now let's begin the lesson!" he exclaimed as he strolled to the front of the class to start the lesson.

Boomer sighed with relief as he sank into his seat, grateful that the odds were in his favor. He glanced towards the new kid whose light blond braids bounced as she avidly wrote in her notebook. The name wasn't familiar to him at all, but she seemed to remind him of someone.

_Must be from out of town._ He shrugged casually and gazed out the window to look at the courtyard three stories below him as he waited restlessly for the bell to ring.

* * *

-Brick-

When the bell finally rang, I swiped my things to meet Butch by the front door. He was leaning on the corner of the wall by himself with his hands tucked into the pockets of his baggy gray cargos. He's kinda been in his own world lately. I mean it's not like he was being more reserved but just distracted, which was still sort of weird coming from him; Butch always has to have a crowd with him, and he hated sitting still for more than three seconds. it's been like that since we were kids and showed no signs of changing until now, making me wonder if there's really something going on with my little brother.

Butch didn't even notice as I stepped closer, making me a little nervous. It wasn't until I was a few inches from his face that I decided to say something.

"Hey Butch, you still here?"

He flinched sharply at the sound of my voice like I was never there. "Christ Brick, you scared the piss outta me." he grumbled.

"Don't need that image in my head." I decided I was better off leaving it for now and leaned on the curved wall to join him before class started as we looked at the scenery of the school from the windows.

He looked at me expectantly."So, you gonna tell me what's up?" Butch and I can tell when something's up with each other and usually have a pretty good idea on what, which can get pretty annoying.

"You first," I countered. "Since when did you turn into a loner?" I was going to stray off the topic, but it didn't seem fair how he was interrogating me when he's been acting like this for a week.

He shrugged his shoulders carelessly, and at that point I knew I wasn't getting an answer anytime soon. Butch always needed to know what we were thinking, so giving up so easily just shows he's hiding something, which meant that I have to figure out what's going on with him eventually.

But I can honestly say out of the two of my brothers, Butch has always seemed a little closer and acts more like a close friend than my sibling nowadays.

So I figured now would be the best time to ask him, since he's been with me my entire life.

"Hey, do you know those new girls?" I tried to bring up the question casually without looking at him, but once you give Butch an inch he'll take the whole fucking mile.

He growled thinking back to the new girl earlier. "They don't ring a bell, even if I _wanted_ to know them," He turned to face me with a evil grin turning into his familiar self. "So ya got bored with your girlfriend huh? Not like I didn't see it comin."

I tried to hit his head but he ducked right on time anticipating my reaction. Sometimes Butch can be a real douchebag. "Just because you can't keep a girlfriend for two minutes doesn't that mean I can't!" I snapped. "They just looked like they were from here."

"Why put up with a chick for a year when you can bang her in one night?" Butch replied evenly. "Why else would God put em on this planet?"

"Forget it." I said shaking my head; he's no help. "Where's Boomer? He's supposed to meet us here."

Butch shrugged his shoulders again before picking up his stuff. "Gotta go. Can't be late otherwise Wendy's gonna have my ass."

"I'll come with you. Art's in the same direction anyway."

As we were stepped through the sliding doors leading to Building Two, I noticed Butch eyeing me curiously. "Why'd you take art anyway? You can't draw a damn stick figure!"

"Since last year I've been banking on whatever A's I can get. Gym, Art, and next it's gonna be Drama. Speaking of which, I'll catch up with you at lunch, gotta see someone."

As Butch left for class I turned to see Cole as he stood in the shadows of his open locker with a deserted baggy T-shirts and sweats, he's had this depressed look on his face for six months like someone who just got diagnosed with terminal*. Worst part about it is there's no signs of it stopping anytime soon. And even though I wanted to leave and avoid an awkward conversation, I haven't talked to him in two weeks and I had to know why he was skipping practice, so I took in a deep breath and approached him cautiously. _Here goes._

"Hey Cole," I greeted cheerfully, "How's it been for you?"

"Same shit. Different day," he mumbled slamming his locker shut to get to class. I could barely keep up with him as I prepared myself for what I was gonna say.

"Haven't been around the soccer field in weeks. What's going on?"

"Dropping it." He kept walking without turning to see my shock at this. "Cole, you can't just drop!" I walked faster to meet his side to try and talk him out of leaving. Saturday we have our first preliminary at Easton Academy and we wouldn't stand a chance even with my powers if Cole wasn't there.

"You know why I'm dropping." Cole replied calmly, making me even more irritated.

"And that's exactly what I'm getting at!" I cut his pace so that he could face me as I made my point. "Life deals you a shitty hand sometimes, I know that. But you gotta take it and move on! You can't just drop everything and crawl into a goddamn corner about what happened! And I'm not saying that I've been there, but I know it's not gonna do you any good. It's been six months and I've just about had it with this crap!"

But when he faced me all I could see was his spiky hair hanging over his face with a look that made me bite my tongue. Looks like I'm gonna have to find an alternate for Saturday. I reluctantly stepped aside and started walking with him at a slower pace as we moved on to a safer topic.

"So what's going on with your dad?"

He let out a growl, letting me know I hit a nerve again. "He's full of shit."

"Three months and not a word?"

"He's gonna drop and bail, just give it some time." Cole spat bitterly. He sped up his pace to end the conversation, except this time I decided it wasn't worth trying to catch up to him. But before he could disappear into the crowd, he paused for a minute and gave me a somber look, and for just a few seconds he was his old self again. Cole was someone known for being cool and detached, something I haven't seen in months.

"Look Brent, I know you've been trying to help lately and I appreciate it, I really do, but I just need to be alone for a while."

"How long do you think that'll be?" We've been together ever since my brothers and I came a year ago and he probably knows the most about me than anyone in this school besides my brothers. But after all the time that's passed, I'm not sure if I'll be able to that anymore.

"Long as it takes, I guess." He sighed before turning back into the crowd. "Later."

I suddenly remembered something and ran to catch up with him. "Wait Cole! Do me a favor will ya?" He turned slightly to hear what he could do, after all he owes me for dropping.

"I need you to text me if you don't see Brandon in class."

When he gave me a look I explained in a serious tone. "It's been a week since he's done something stupid."

He nodded his head slowly with a skepticism. "Right." I could tell he was about to say something sarcastic until someone interrupted him.

"_Brent!_" I turned to see a stunning brunette in dark blue sweats marching towards me. "We're gonna be late for Ms. Edgar's! _Again._"

"Don't worry sweetie," I said wrapping my arm around her shoulders. "Mrs. Edgar's class is right below us." I smiled to myself inwardly to see that Cole had suddenly disappeared; he hates being around couples.

"So?" I turned to meet her blue eyes waiting for my reply. "Are we going now?"

Guess I was going to have to talk with him during lunch. I gave her a soft kiss on the cheek as a response before we walked downstairs to our next class.

* * *

-Blossom-

"God, that class took forever to end!" Buttercup groaned.

"Well, maybe if you weren't too busy sleeping you would've gotten something out of it."

"Actually, I did learn some things. One: My teacher's bipolar, and two: there's a creeper in our class."

I thought back to the redhead as chills went up my spine. I never thought my first day would be so exhausting. I kept looking at all the students running across the halls, pushing and yelling over each other in high voices. How can they do this every day? _Can't wait to go to second period. _I thought miserably.

"_There you are!_ I've been looking all over the place for you guys!" someone hollered.

Me and my sisters turned to see a girl about our age running towards us. "When I didn't see you in the courtyard I figured you wouldn't show up!"

Me and my sisters exchanged looks, trying to see if one of us knew her. The girl was thin, fair-skinned, and had coal black hair that was tied into two messy buns on top of her head as wispy bangs fell just over her eyes. She was wearing a red rolled up flannel shirt with black jeggings and black converse with a small black hair pin as her only accessory.

I decided to speak first. "Um, who are you?"

"Oh! I'm sorry!" she giggled nervously and held out her hand. Her. "Becky Stewart. I was assigned as your guide for a few days so that you wouldn't get lost."

"Well I'm Brianne." I said brightly as I met her hand. "This is Brooklyn and…" I took a moment to show Buttercup a look of disapproval for her chosen name. "_Bree._ We just came from Harvey's class."

She gave us a sympathetic look. "Harvey on your first day? Sounds rough."

"You have no idea," Buttercup mumbled.

"It's okay, you'll get used to him." As we were heading into the corridors of Building Two I tried to adjust my brown contacts without it being too obvious. The Professor suggested there have been accounts of albinism before resulting in pink eyes so that I didn't have to wear contacts, but I decided against it. An excuse like albinism was definitely a stretch that my sisters couldn't afford.

In fact, thinking back on it, we really should have disguised ourselves better to keep ourselves incognito. Unlike me, Bubbles and Buttercup pretty much have their signature trademarks considering their outfits matched their personalities completely. Bubbles had pleated two long braids and wore a casual light blue sundress going down to her knees with low level wedges. Buttercup instead wore her faded green sports hoodie with sweatpants and high top converse.

But as I looked around the hallway, no one seemed to notice a single thing. We came as three sisters, we had completely different appearances, and we looked exactly like the three girls they idolized years ago and no one's even given a second glance. _I guess Townsville forgot about us after all, _I thought smiling sadly to myself at what was supposed to be a good thing.

We walked quietly down the hall until Becky started up some conversation as she led us to our classes. "Heard you guys sorta came out of nowhere, any reason?"

"We were homeschooled for a while and decided it was time for a change," I replied smoothly.

"So you're all sisters?" she asked skeptically

"Adopted." I figured it was the only way we could explain why we looked so different. "But our foster dad's taken care of us since we were five."

"Oh. So, you guys need help with the classes?" With that she took out her own copy of the school map which turned out to be way more detailed than the outdated copy Gladys gave us from the clerk in the Main Office.

My entire mood brightened. We would've been searching the halls for hours without her. "Of course! My sisters and I were just wondering-"

"-Figured it out. Bye" Buttercup rudely interrupted and veered off for her class.

I glared in her direction before turning back to see the poor student looking puzzled as she waited for an explanation. "Don't worry about Bree, she can be… difficult. But me and Brooklynn could really use your help." I definitely wasn't going to let her go with this one.

* * *

**CHORUS CLASS**

"_GLORIOUS!_ GLORIOUS! A new student to embark on the journey which is Music…!"

Ms. Hertu couldn't hold her excitement as the new student sat nervously in front of her in the large amphitheatre patiently waiting for her monologue to end, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Each new student meant the teacher was one step closer to getting funds directed into the Arts Department, meaning she could actually have a chance at turning Drama and Chorus into two separate classes. It was a wonder how Nora managed to funnel enough funds into the Visual Arts to have such a huge classroom!

"So, my young pupil!" She exclaimed as she turned to face Bubbles, who squirmed uncomfortably at being studied by her new teacher like some new specimen. "Shall I be seeing you in the choir anytime soon?"

Bubbles looked around the room for any help from her fellow students, but no one dared to interrupt Ms. Hertu when she was on recruitment mode. She faced her teacher with dread when she realized she was on her own.

"Well…I-…I…" Bubbles stammered upon seeing Ms. Hertu's heartbreakingly eager face. How could she say no to that?

"…just.. didn't know where to sign up…" She mumbled dejectedly, letting off another excited speech about the "wonders of chorus" and how she was going to "embrace the true love of the arts". It's not like Bubbles hated to sing, in fact she loved it. But she just couldn't figure out how she was going to juggle the Cheerleading Squad and the Dance Team, both teams she really wanted to join as soon as she can.

As the teacher's voice echoed in the auditorium, Cole Spencer sat to himself all the way in the back in the last row of seats. The whole theatre was formed like a stadium except it had a rectangular shape with the front doors at the higher level and the and the stage on the lower level. The front rows sat a few feet from the stage where most of the class sat to face their teacher.

The teenager could see everything happening from his seat above in amusement, almost feeling sorry for the new kid. Seeing her light blond hair and frail figure made him think of Brandon for a little bit. _She looks more like his sibling than his brothers do._

Upon remembering his name he scanned the small class that was concentrated by the stage and realized that Brent knew his brother a lot more than Cole ever gave him credit for.

As promised, he took out his phone and texted his friend before he got caught being in the back rows.

* * *

-Blossom-

I wasn't sure about taking art, but I have to admit it wasn't what I expected at all.

The art room is located on the first floor and took up two classrooms. Even though it had the normal rectangular shape, it was still pretty unique. The walls were covered in a bright mural and paintings from artists like Escher, Friedrich, and Picasso hung all over the place. I've never fully embraced my love of visual arts until now.

"I see you like the studio." I turned to see Ms. Edgar staring at me with an amused look.

"What? Oh, yes, it's incredible!" She grinned brightly at my response, pleased with my reaction. Her face was angled softly with dark blue eyes coming out through the folds of her wrinkles as long white hair flowed down to the middle of a multicolored tunic accessorized by a golden amulet. I wondered what she looked like when she was younger, but a part of me already knew she must've been a knockout.

"Past students decided to leave me these decorations as gifts;" she had a slight French Moroccan accent when she spoke, making her appearance seem exotic. "said that an art room couldn't be just drab paint," she chuckled to herself.

"By the way my name's Brianne." I took notice of the fact that this was the first time I actually voluntarily introduced myself.

"Oh don't worry sweetie, I already know. It's my job to know the names of my students."

"But Mr. Harvey-"

"-has more nuts going on in his head than squirrels could ever dream about." She retorted. _Squirrels?_ Okay, so she's a little kooky, but every art teacher's that way.

"So after I take the attendance, would you mind introducing yourself to the class?"

"I'd love to," I beamed, happy I was asked rather than dragged.

She stepped to the front of the classroom with a clipboard and pen ready at the podium as she spoke above the mild noise. "Let's take roll. Abby…" I started to make myself familiar with the room. The windows brought in most of the light in the room as spread across the large room. The 8 large tables were aligned in a semicircle at the center of the room. The whiteboard was placed on the left wall and on the right were closets filled with art supplies and two small rooms set as small private workrooms for anyone who wanted to work alone. I wished I could spend every waking minute in this place, I loved everything about this class.

"Brent Jones?" Ms. Edgar called out

"Here." My horror soon turned into relief as he raise his hand in response with his other hand wrapped around the shoulders of a pretty brunette. _Thank God_, I thought to myself. So he probably wasn't a creeper, but it still didn't explain why he stared at us like that.

"Isabella Martinez?"

The girl under his shoulders raised her hand slightly. "Right here."

"Bella, has anyone ever told you that you resemble Elizabeth Taylor?" Ms. Edgar asked nonchalantly. I couldn't see how she could've compared the two. Unlike the actress, the girl had light brown hair and tanned skin just a few shades lighter than her hair. Despite the amount of confidence shown in her posture, she had an innocent smile that made her look a couple years younger. If I were to compare her to an actress, she would've looked more like Jessica Alba to me.

She gave Ms. Edgar a puzzled look. "No, who's that?"

"A old actress with 8 divorces." I blurted.

The class fell silent as everyone turned to see me starting to turn red with embarrassment. "Um, just something I read in a book," I giggled nervously. Definitely not the way I wanted to introduce myself.

The silence was interrupted by Brent's phone ringing. "Brent! You know how I feel about electronic devices!" Ms. Edgar scolded before turning back to the light brown haired girl. "On a brighter light, Ms. Taylor was known more for her stunning looks rather than for her relationships."

Before the girl could mumble an awkward response to the compliment, her boyfriend stood from his seat with a scowl on his face. "Ms. Edgar can I use the bathroom real quick?"

"Sure sweetheart, but be quick, I going to get into my lecture soon."

When he took the pass to leave class, Ms. Edgar faced us brightly. "Now there's reason for the Elizabeth Taylor reference as her peak of fame came right into the modernized era of art…"

* * *

-Buttercup-

The coach had to yell above the groans to get her point across. "THAT'S RIGHT LADIES! DODGEBALL; BOYS VS. GIRLS! LOSERS RUN TWO MILES!" she glared at me. "And you can thank the smartass over here for not knowing how to keep her mouth shut!

Okay, I admit it wasn't a good idea to leave so soon, but I didn't think this school would be that big. And it wasn't like I was late to class, I just took more time to change because I came later than everyone else!

"All I was trying to tell you was that it's not my fault I'm late! I'm new here, remember?"

"And what happened to your escort?" Before I could even answer her she already made up her mind. "No excuses! Get to your sides!"

I shot her a look and cursed under my breath before leaving for the girls' side. The place was filled with girls giving me dirty looks when I passed them, but I was better of ignoring them. It's not like they're gonna say a damn thing to my face, anyway.

No sooner had the thought entered my mind I heard a voice coming from the side of the gym under the basketball hoop.

"Nice going, moron."

"_Scuse me?"_ I turned to see a girl sitting on the wall glaring at me.

"So you're deaf too?" She stood up and stepped towards me with a scowl on her face. The girl had messy dark red hair and jade green eyes that almost glowed an eerie light with piercings on her nose and the cartilage of her ears. I have to admit for someone a little shorter than me, she looked like she could bench 150 in no sweat.**

She turned to make sure the coach was busy before turning back to me in a harsh tone. "Wendy's gonna have us running miles after the shit you pulled, so you need to say sorry before I end up outside cuz of some newbie!"

"I'm not saying sorry to anyone!" I snapped.

"Oh," the redhead scoffed stopping inches from my face with the hint of a smirk. "You're gonna apologize. Now." Who the hell does she think she's talking too?

"And who's gonna make me?" I said in a low voice closing the distance between us so that we within an inch of each other.

"Watch it, newbie," she snickered. "You don't know who you're talking to." Ginger probably had a point. I could feel the gym watching us, waiting for the next move to be played and was already getting out their camera phones and taking bets for a good fight.

"Well what I _do_ know is that you look like a leprechaun on steroids, so I don't think I wanna know anything else about you." When I saw her face twist in rage I raised my eyebrows in satisfaction. This bitch doesn't know who she's messing with.

_I'm not gonna have to come to the school today, am I?_ The Professor's voice kept echoing through my head like a warning; an annoying one, but still a warning. I didn't even want to think about the Professor coming through the main office to pick me up after a fight with that sad look on his face.

So I turned back in the direction I was walking from. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't get into a fight. Or at least not on the first day.

But as I tried walking away, I felt my arm being pulled backwards a very pissed off redhead who obviously didn't know how to take a joke.

"Take that back!" she gritted through her teeth.

"Get your hands off me!" I yelled yanking my arm back in place.

"HOW ABOUT YOU MAKE ME!"

"_GIMME TWO SECONDS AND I'LL HAVE YOUR ASS IN PIECES!"_

I set my fist for the first hit, but before I could swing at her we both turned to the sound of the whistle to see everyone watching us along with our coach fuming like she was ready to hit the both of us with her clipboard.

"_GIRLS! TO THE SIDELINES!" _

Glaring at each other for a minute, we both eventually separated to opposite sides of the gym as it was being set up for the game. As I sat down I sighed to myself, thinking back to how excited I was to have gym next. Now with my fatass of a coach and a bitchy little leprechaun as my classmate, I'm just counting the seconds till I'm outta here.

A few minutes later I saw four bowling pins at the free-throw line on both sides of the court and a bunch of balls lined in the middle with Coach Wendy at the center line.

"Alright, to explain to our new student, the rules are simple: Each side will have four bowling pins spread out. Whoever knocks out the four pins first wins. You can also win by knocking out everyone on the other side. You can do this either by hitting them or catching the ball being thrown at you. Understand?" Her eyes glanced over at the boys' side, or more specifically at the stocky asshole from my English class.

"Try not to have too much fun." She sneered.

* * *

-Brick-

I strode through the hallways to look for Boomer, growing angrier every time I looked at the text-

_**::Cole::**_

_**Brandon's M.I.A.*****_

_Unbelievable! The kid doesn't know when to quit!_ I stopped in the middle of the empty hallway, thinking of where to look next until an idea hit.

I turned to make sure no one was around before I fazed from the hallway to the rooftop of Building 2 in seconds. How people made it through life without teleportation is beyond me.

From fifty feet away I could see a thin piece of string taped to the curb of the roof as it shifted slightly. As I approached the string I could see none other than my brother hanging upside down from the building with that piece of string tied to his ankle as he was taking pictures of the corporate buildings across the road from our school. I knit my eyebrows together as I felt the signs of a migraine coming.

"_Boomer,"_ Boomer looked up to see me facing him before going back to taking pictures. "just what the fuck are you doing?"

"_Unleashing my inner demon!"_ he exclaimed in awe as he continued to take pictures. _Christ._

"And you couldn't do that at least _standing_ on the rooftop rather than _hanging from it?_" I growled as my voice rose.

He looked towards me with a pleading look. "C'mon Brick! You should come down to see these pics! They're incredible!"

"You're taking them by _hanging on a piece of string with duct tape!_" I yelled losing my patience.

"Then you obviously don't know the hidden powers of duct tape."_ Six billion people on this planet and I get this moron._

"Were you dropped on your head as a child? I mean for Chrissake Boomer, you could've at least used some rope or something!"

He flew up to the curb and gave me an annoyed look. "Why do you care so much? It doesn't matter if I used dental floss! What else could anyone say: I was _flying?_"

As much as I wanted to argue, I knew he had a point. No matter how bizarre the circumstances, no matter how bad the chances are, people always look for 'the logical outlook'. People would rather believe he was hanging on a piece of string with a piece of tape from a gas station than believe that he was flying upside down from supernatural powers; this was a God given fact.

But I wasn't going to admit that.

Instead I whacked the backside of his head to get him to listen. "It doesn't matter Boomer! We can't lose our cover, and you know that pulling dumb shit like this isn't making any of our lives easier. For Chrissake, can't you just sit in you class for one week like a normal student without me having to call on people to spy on you?! You're seventeen Boomer, Grow Up!"

"Kay…" He pulled the string off and looked down at the concrete like a kid getting yelled at by his parents. Sometimes I feel like I'm just that to my younger brothers; a parent yelling at them over the same shit I told them yesterday. And the day before. And before that. You get the point

I pushed Boomer forward to get him to start walking. "C'mon, I'm taking you to class." When we were on our way towards the staircase, we could hear a whistle followed by a loud noise coming from the Gymnasium and I back to Butch who had this class right about now.

"Sounds like Butch is having fun," Boomer folded his arms behind his head, already back to being his casual self.

"Let's just get to class." I was too tired to deal with the two of them in one day and couldn't wait to hang out with Bell after school. I looked up to the bright cloudy sky feeling worn down and found myself wishing that I could float on across the world without a single thought on what I passed on.

Looking back at the roof where Boomer and I were, I reminded myself that life's never fair, one of the few things my brothers and I could wholeheartedly agree on. I followed my brother back to the stairs knowing that now wasn't the time for that and decided to focus on now than what could've been.

After two minutes of peace passed, Boomer turned back around with a playful grin on his face. "Are you sure you don't wanna see the pictu– _OW!_ _A simple 'no' would've worked too!_"

* * *

-Butch-

Dodgeball always sounds like hell, but that's what's best about it. That and, beating the shit out of people I don't like. So I was, of course, the first one to get to the center line and grabbed four of the dodgeballs to give em to the others on my team. As I passed around the dodge balls I looked around the gym court to see where the fuck Baser**** was, but if he wanted to head out early that's his problem.

I tried to see which girl I was gonna go for first. Some guys say we should go easy em, but why the fuck would I do that? It's not like they didn't know what they were signing up for! I started with a small brunette on the far right with a curveball straight to her stomach (She was blocking a pin anyway, I think). Next was a blond I hooked up with at a party last summer (She's a slut). Then I hit the back of a hot Asian who rejected me to last year's Homecoming (She had a fucking hunchback, I'm doing her a favor!).

But they're just target practice. I made sure to keep an eye on the new girl in the corner so that I could have the last hit on her, the perfect way to get back at the way she treated me last class. I figure one straight to her pretty face outta keep her big mouth shut for a few days. And it's not like I'm doing this for myself; she already pissed off half of the entire class for making us do this, so I'm doing this for the greater better! Wait… I think it was the greater good. I dunno, my English teacher's full of shit.

"What'd I miss?" When I turned around I saw Baser trudging towards me in his gym clothes like he just came off a Crash. I'd have to remind myself to buy him some food later; he looked like crap.

"Dodgeball. Here, hold this one for me!" I tossed him the one I reserved for the newbie and went off to get more dodgeballs when I realized they were all on the other side of the court, and there was no one left but the newbie sitting in the corner and didn't look like she was gonna get up anytime soon. And no matter what happens in dodgeball, you never go on the other side, otherwise it's an automatic forfeit. But no worries. I still have that one ball left to end this whole game either with a pin, or just nailing her in the face.

But in two seconds she grabbed the closest ball to her and hurled it straight for my head before I dodged it easily. I couldn't say the same for Baser, though. The little bitch had him knocked out. The ball I had planned for her was now in the hands of some other guy trying to make a hit for the last pin. Turns out she's already knocked down two of our pins, and knocked out a third of the guys on our side (including Baser). I admit, this girl's a boss! But there's no way she's winning.

When Baser got up he noticed how pissed I was and gave me a pained look.

"Blayke, please don't make us run."

"Why the hell would I do that?" Who does he think he's talking to, Boomer? Of course they weren't gonna win, there's only one of them! I started hurling dodgeballs in her direction. But the more I missed the more I tried to get back at her, and the more she enjoyed the whole thing. How the hell is she so damn fast? I started to get even angrier when I saw her laughing at me like I was a joke. I grabbed as many as I could carry and launched them straight in her direction as fast as I could.

"Why don't you just get out!" But when I turned around I realized we ran out again, and that little gremlin grinned at me evilly, and I realized then that she was just baiting me. I didn't even want to turn to Baser right now, who was probably giving me the 'I Told You So' look behind me. Instead I glanced at our last pin with my fists clenched. She told me off in first period, humiliated me in the second, and now I have to run two miles thanks to her ass.

I glared at her one final time before swearing under my breath. She's done for.

* * *

-Buttercup-

I knew dodge ball could get rough, but I wasn't thinking it'd be that bad. Girls were screaming all over the place. Most of them were just running from God knows what, but others had a pretty good reason. Turns out the dude with gel spiked hair never heard of being fair and was literally bulldozing through girls. At least now I knew why everyone was so pissed off at me. In fact, I felt a little sorry for them. This one Freshman was doubled over by a pin after she got hit in the stomach, three girls were hiding behind the bleachers, one huddled into a corner in fetal position, and two others sat in a corner to massage the areas they got hit as they tried not to cry. It looked like a fucking war zone.

And in case you were wondering about our coach, she's sitting in the back eating some nachos, not giving a damn for who got hurt. If I get the chance, that bitch was getting one right in her face.

As bad as I felt for all of them, I knew I couldn't help. It would just ruin my plan. The guys were only going for the girls anyway. Sure enough, after a few minutes there was a long line of girls who were hit except for me. I turned to see the jock leering at me with a crooked smile on his face, probably getting a sick kick out of hurting the new kids and saved me for last.

How flattering.

But I wasn't gonna give him the satisfaction. When he turned around I took the first ball I saw and threw it straight towards that jock's head only to miss and hit the only person holding the only ball at that moment, but I shrugged it off and targeted the pins. Not my fault he wasn't paying attention. By the time I reached two pins I barely missed a curveball that whizzed past my face from the spiky haired guy, who looked livid.. From there I dodged until he started to run out, which was bound to happen soon. I had to increase my sight by 5 times in order to avoid getting hit. If it wasn't for that, I probably would've been in the infirmary by now

Bu the look on that jerk's face was all worth it. He looked like he was going to implode on himself when he realized he ran out of balls to throw at me. So with all the balls on my side I could knock down their last pin in no sweat, but I felt kinda sad surprisingly; that was the most fun I had all period.

Suddenly I heard a _PLONK!_ come from my side. I whipped my head around to see the last pin on my side knocked down to the floor next to Ginger, who just came out from her hiding spot behind the bleachers.

"Whoops. My bad!" she gasped.

The coach got up from her chair to make the announcement. "Due to all four pins dropped, the girls forfeit and the guys win! Girls! Prepare to exit the gym!" Her voice was followed by a mix between groans and cheers as I just gawked at the pin. How in the hell could I have lost?! I had everything ready and now I have to run thanks to her? For fuck's sake, She was the one who was about to fight me over how much she didn't want to go outside! It wasn't fair!

When I looked at the guy I was aiming at before, he looked just as pissed as I was even though he won. I didn't really know why and to be honest I could give two shits about that right now.

I turned back at the pins to see the redhead was actually grinning at me like she just won a prize, and for a moment I was completely lost before I could speak.

"Are you fucking kidding me? You're the one who didn't want to run in the first place!"

"Changed my mind," she shrugged. "Thought we could use a little exercise."

I couldn't help but gawk at her. She would rather do something in the hot sun, making herself smelly, sweaty, and tired, just so that I was just as miserable.

"The fuck's your problem?"

She narrowed her eyes at me in scorn. "A lot of things. You included." With that, she turned back to the crowd of girls and headed outside for the track. I thought about what's happened ever since I came here and realized that it's official.

I fucking hate it here.

* * *

-Blossom-

**LUNCH**

My sisters and I were following Becky as she led us to the cafeteria, but for the first time, it seemed like Buttercup had a boatload of things to talk about.

"So then she says _'Watch it newbie. You don't know who you're messing with.'_ So I'm thinking to myself _'Of course I know who I'm fuck I'm talking to I'm not blind!'…_"

I sighed to myself. It's been the first day and Buttercup's already ranting over some girl she got into a fight with. But when I turned to see the girl, I realized Buttercup's description of her just didn't do her justice.

"Why didn't the coach report the fight to the principal?" Becky asked, the only one of us that was interested in her story.

"_It wasn't a fight!_ Jeezus fucking Christ were any of you guys listening to a word I just said?!" she screeched.

"Nope." I responded, almost welcoming the glare she sent in my direction. _Welcome to my world, sweetheart._

But we all grew quiet as we entered the cafeteria building. It was HUGE.

The cafeteria as a whole was circular shaped and had three floors with students entering in from one side, which also had three food lines for each floor. The third floor (which we were on) aligned with the curved shape of the walls and extended five yards from the wall before it was stopped at a glass railing. From the glass railing there was a huge open space in the middle of the cafeteria with seats only on the first floor. The seats in the middle were placed right above a painted mural on the floor of a shark, our school mascot. The walls were painted in royal blue and huge windows spread all around with a big banner on the other end of the cafeteria showing another picture of the mascot with the caption _**"West Coast Sharks!"**_.

"Well _damn_," Buttercup muttered.

"Where are we gonna sit?" Bubbles asked, still gazing in awe at the lunchroom.

"That's up to you guys. I usually sit in the courtyard with the other half of students, but I wanted to show you guys the cafeteria since you've already seen the courtyard on your way in."

"The _other _half!? But This place is practically filled!"Bubbles squeaked.

Becky shrugged, unable to explain better than that. "It's a big school. Since you guys are new, you can pick wherever you want to sit."

"Right here!" Buttercup demanded pointing to the table directly in front of the food line. I wondered if it was because of how close we were to the line, or because she was too lazy to pick out anything else.

It was probably both. "Come on guys, we'll set our stuff here and-"

"We can't stay here." Becky blurted.

"Well, why not?" Bubbles asked innocently. I gave Becky a puzzled look. It was a perfect spot to sit at. The table was right by the lunch line and the balcony railing which had a perfect view of the school.

"Because it's _mine_." We all turned to a sickeningly familiar voice.

"Un…fuckin…believable" Buttercup muttered.

Usually I'd try to scold my sister, but I knew I felt the exact way when I turned to see Princess in a yellow J Crew dress with huge amounts of makeup and jewelry and wore heels that made her at least five inches taller than the rest of us with her curly red hair let down in long twists. She was also followed by two identical platinum blond twins that dressed in almost the exact same way as her

I was about to comment on how she's changed, but then I remembered we're supposed to be new, plus I didn't want to boost her ego. So I instead forced myself to smile and hold out my hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. What's your name?"

The girl looked like she was going to scream at the thought of someone never recognizing her. "Where do you live, under a rock?! I'm the reason you come to this school!" I was about to come up with a retort before I realized that what she said was probably true to an extent.

She made a shooing gesture with her hand to us. "I'll let it slide this time though, but only just because you're new." She glared at Becky in disgust. "Shame on you for not telling them the rules around here!"

Becky signed in annoyance. "I was just telling them before you came here." Why was she explaining herself to her in the first place?

"_No excuses!" _she barked with one of her famous tantrums. But she quickly composed herself by dramatically waving her hand around her face like it was some wand and looked back at our guide in a poised way. "But you'll be forgiven for this time. I suppose it can't be helped. _Girls!_" The two girls scramble to meet her side. "It's time for the intro!"

The two platinum girls began a long rehearsed introduction to Princess, her accomplishments as an heiress, and why she will be eternally superior to us in all ways possible. Even though she made me sick, I did do a little research on Princess and she admittedly has done quite well for herself by owning thee stores under her own name, but then again they were practically snatched from families who just couldn't afford to stand up to someone with so much influence.

All in all, Princess was still a spoiled brat. Just a more sophisticated one.

When the girls finished their 'presentation', Princess triumphantly looked down at us and waited for our applause. "So! how'd you like it?"

Before we could even think about what to say, the blond on her right already beat us to the point. "_Ohmigodohmigodohmigod!_" she composed herself and excitedly turned towards her partner. "We should be on _America's Got Talent!_" and soon started a round of squeals between the two.

"I could use a good laugh," Becky snickered with Buttercup smirking behind her.

The other blond whipped her head to give Becky an icy glare. "Why don't you crawl into your little emo corner, freak!"

Becky froze, and opened her mouth to say something, but instead stayed quiet and walked away from the three as they sat at the table. Buttercup soon caught up to her and started to mumble something in her ear. I used my heightened senses to listen to their conversation.

* * *

-Buttercup-

"You're not just gonna sit there and take that, are you?"

Becky gave me a depressed look. "I have to. The school may not be named after them, but the Morbucks donate tons of cash because Princess goes here. She untouchable by students, staff, and even some of the assistant principals. The principal's been trying to get us out of her influence, but since she's came here, nobody messes with her."

"Nobody?" With an attitude like that, I'd find it hard not to.

But Becky just shook her head. "Hey, let's just meet downstairs, kay?" when I nodded my head she trudged down the cafeteria stairs to the first floor. I turned back to the three skeptically. _Nobody's challenged them?_

I felt a sly grin start to spread on my face. "Time to change that."

* * *

-Blossom-

I looked in horror as my young innocent sister stepped towards the table the three girls were sitting at that was meant to be for us. Her skin turned into a pale white with her lips pressed tightly and eyebrows scrunched together, something she thinks makes her look tough when really she just looks like a child. This wasn't going to end well.

"_Bubbles!"_ I hissed so that only she could hear. When she saw me I shook my head firmly to show her it's not a good idea, but the look on her face told her otherwise. She timidly poked on Princess's shoulder.

"Excuse me." She whispered.

The three kept on with their conversation. I started to walk towards Bubbles so that I could stop her from doing this. She poked her again.

"_Excuse me-"_

"What!" Princess now stood with her hands on her hips, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Brooke, let's go to our table." I said putting a hand on her shoulder, but she never turned away from Princess, her expression innocent yet firm at the same time.

"You owe my friend an apology."

"A what?" she asked dubiously, unaware of ever using that word.

Bubbles kindly restated for her. "An apology. So can you and your friends please say sorry?"

Princess turned back to her duo before busting out in laughter. When she finally composed herself, she turned to Bubbles that way an adult would look at a child who didn't understand something.

"Move kid."

"I want you to apologize." When I tried to turn her in my direction, Bubbles didn't move an inch. She really felt strongly about this.

Princess narrowed her eyes into slits. "I said _move_."

"You need to say sorr-"

Bubbles gasped as a bowl of scalding hot soup was poured all over her hair and dress. The first floor fell still for a minute and everyone turned to my sister, who looked too stunned to speak. Even I was too shocked to respond before turning to Princess for some sort of explanation. Instead, she crept close to my sister, who was now shaking as tears slipped down her face, and spoke really low to set her point straight.

"Lemme set the record straight, because you're not getting it. This is _my_ school, the people here take _my _orders, and right now your busy with the smell of _my_ Toscana soup all over you because you just couldn't follow orders. But then again, it kinda suits the look." Princess turned back to her partners for support in her cruelty. "I mean look at her dress!"

"It looks like she got that from Goodwill!" one blond huffed

"Not even! Probably pulled it from their garbage disposal this morning!" the other snorted.

As the girls cackled in laughter from their jokes, Bubbles started to hiccup and couldn't stop shaking as the tears flooded her face in humiliation. She spent _hours_ coming up with the perfect outfit and was now the laughing stock of her entire class. My fists started to clench as my nostrils flared in pure rage. I had to calm myself down before things got ugly.

"You know what? Here," Princess flung five singles in Bubbles's face as we both flinched in shock. "Take these and buy yourself a decent wardrobe. Heard they have a sale at Goodwill this weekend._ Breathe. Breathe. Take deep breaths._

Suddenly Buttercup swung her fist across Princess's face in full force just as the redhead was about to sit down, knocking her into the school cafeteria line and breaking right into the glass that separated the students from the lunch ladies. There came a complete silence as everyone continued to stare at us in shock of what she did.

Princess slowly and laboriously staggered up with the help of her twin replicas (she wouldn't let the lunch ladies touch her). When she finally got her bearing the heiress touched her head to see a trickle of blood slip down her porcelain face and turned to stare at Buttercup in utter disbelief, but my sister just shrugged it off like it was a small misunderstanding.

"Oops… Did that hurt?" Buttercup asked feigning pure curiosity.

"You… _YOU!" _Princess lunged forward for her but Buttercup easily caught her fists and locked eyes with her as a glint in her eye started to appear showing her evil intent.

"So you think she got her clothes from a garbage disposal?" I admit I was more than thrilled to see Princess in such a state and almost even smiled, but this was probably going to take it to the next level.

And it certainly did.

* * *

The boys sat at the other end of the cafeteria behind the windows as they saw the scene unfold before them on the third floor with their heightened vision. Brick looked up from his lunch and squinted his eyes to make sure he wasn't just seeing things.

"Wow."

"Scary…" Boomer mumbled hiding behind his sandwich.

But unlike his brothers, Butch was in hysterics at the scene. "It's about damn time someone did that! Man I swear she looks better with that garbage than the shit she passes off as makeup! Her and the Olsen Twins look like they belong in a fucking circus!"

When his laughter stopped he stood up to throw away his food with his brothers following suit. "But I give that noob credit. There's only one other person who had the balls to beat up Princess. Speak of the devil!"

He looked up to see Jasper sitting on the edge by on of the windows of the cafeteria with Baser, who was also watching the scene with a scowl on her face. Even when she was pissed off she looked hot.

"Jasper! You look lovely as always! What do you say to going out with me this weekend?" Butch announced brightly as he stooped a little closer to see if she would approve this time.

"I'd rather gorge my eyes out with spoons." She declared without taking a second glance in his direction.

But Butch of course never could give up so easily, especially on someone like her. But for now he move on towards a new topic and motioned towards the third floor.

"What do you think about your competition? Haven't seen Princess this scared since you threatened to have her in a morgue."

She clicked her tongue impatiently. "What competition? She's just as annoying as that brat!"

Butch nodded his head in agreement. "True. Very true. But you gotta admit, she's kinda hot."

The redhead shot him a look. "One, I'm not a lesbian. And two, tell that to someone who cares Blayke, I have better things to worry about, like my lunch."

Seeing she wasn't in the mood, the three of them left leaving Baser who looked at Jasper quizzically. She noticed this and turned so he wouldn't see her annoyed expression, but she already knew it was too late.

"Shut up."

"You do care don't you?" his voice rose in amusement at her sudden animosity.

"Wouldn't you!" she snapped. "This bitch thinks she's the shit now that she went up against me!" It's true Princess doesn't even look at her after what happened, but she never laid a hand on her, something this newbie did on her first day here. Jasper hated to admit it, but she felt a twinge of envy that she wasn't used to having for someone so arrogantly stupid. She definitely wasn't stronger than her, and she was just gonna have to teach this girl how to show some respect. She glanced over the door the new girl exited from with a sly grin on her face. She was always up for a challenge.

* * *

Okay, so this chapter's super long, but I feel like the next chapter might be the same length or less. Now that I'm thinking about it, we may see more of Buttercup as things start to pick up a bit, because this was more of an introduction. Because of my late notice I should have the next chapter up a bit sooner (_should;_ it all depends on how busy I am). I must say that I made a tiny mistake within the first hour of my new chapter being published, something that a select few probably got to see, and for those of you that did see it, it was just that; a mistake and nothing else

But seriously a big thank you for being patient and I'm sorry this chapter seems a bit boring but next chapter I'm kicking things up. Review, Review, Review!

*: Terminal Cancer

**: **M**issing **I**n **A**ction

***: That's basically lifting weights at an expert level for someone her height and figure (remember, if BC's 5'4, she's probably like 5'2 considering she's shorter than her)

****: It's someone who smokes a lot of pot and coke

PS: If you guys would like an image of the school, I'd be more than happy to send it to you, just give me your email or something cause i can't post it on here. And what'd you think of my OC's so far? I'm always up for criticism


	6. The Problem With Being A Heroine

I would've had this a lot sooner, but my crappy excuse for a computer didn't save my file, so I had to rewrite around 5 to 6 thousand words over. I wasn't aggravated at first, but overtime it got really frustrating trying to recreate something from before and to be honest I had to really pull myself through this chapter.

But on a brighter note, thank you for all of your fabulous reviews and follows/favorites, it's been such a huge support and I started working on this the day after I posted the last one. It's because of you guys that I feel motivated to do more (yeah, I know it's corny, but it's true). So I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

For anyone who had the same question as l3rainy, I just wanna say the boys still think the girls are dead, but they still need to keep their identities hidden. Why they would be something I'll explain later on in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

Chapter 6: The Problem With Being A Heroine

* * *

_After the encounter, Buttercup now sat in the Principal's office alone as the clock ticked on. She twisted her fingers with restless anticipation as she waited for him to arrive._

The Principal's office was probably the smallest room I've been in so far, but in a good way because I was getting real tired of all the classrooms being filled with the people I hate. The room had a window sitting on the wall across from me with a bookshelf on the wall behind the Principal's desk. The only accessory was a potted plant to my left that made the room feel nice, but that didn't help me feel any better.

_You just HAD to get into a fight. ON YOUR FIRST DAY! _I ran my fingers through my hair trying to avoid looking at the empty seat on my right for the Professor. I made myself a promise and I blew it by hitting the girl who was gonna get me expelled.

But then again I don't think I feel so bad about that part.

When the Principal finally came, I took a quick peek at the tag on the desk so that I could _'address him formally'_ like Blossom suggested for when I got into trouble.

**Principal ****Jun-seo Lee****.** _How the fuck am I gonna pronounce that!_

"Ms. Underhill?"

"_Who-_Oh! Yeah?" I'm still not used to those names.

For a principal, he wasn't what I expected at all. He was a little under average height with Asian features and had this studious look that Blossom wears when she's studying. I'm not saying he looked weak, but I guess I was kinda expecting someone a bit more… intimidating.

"So I take it your first day isn't going so well?" he teased with the hint of a smile, but I was too depressed to even make a comment. My sisters aren't gonna get over expulsion anytime soon, especially since it's my fault – again. But at least he wasn't as mean as my other teachers.

When he noticed I wasn't in the mood, he took off his glasses to study me. I fidgeted nervously in my seat and tried to look the other way. Someone as old as him couldn't have remembered someone ten years ago, right?_ What was my first name again? Bridgit… Becky…_

"Bree," _There! That's it!_ "I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot."

I could feel myself growing angry again thinking back to how Princess treated Bubbles. The least _they _could've done was bring her spoiled ass down here and made it _look _like she was getting punished!

"The only reason I did the things that I did was because of how she treated my sister! She threw her soup in her face! You can't tell me she didn't deserve it."

"And _you_ punched her, knocking her over the food line, and then threw her into a garbage disposal." The principal replied reasonably.

_Well the bitch said she got her clothes from the garbage, so I wanted to show her what one really looked like!_ "Look, I'm the one here instead of her, isn't that enough?"

"Unfortunately no. In fact, Princess wants you three out of the city and has the means to do so."

_Like I didn't see that coming. Fuck. My. Life._

"But I managed to pull you guys through."

That came as a surprise. "Wait… No way?!"

He gave me a friendly smile. "Princess can be… a handful. And it's your first day here, so I convinced her to step down…"

"You have no idea how much you helped me, this is really-"

"_But…"_ he raised his index finger to finish what he was about to say. "Only under the condition that her clothes and reparations for the lunch line came out of your pocket."

Right at that moment I heard the door open to see the NSA agent come in instead of the Professor as I clenched the chair's armrests and cursed at my luck. Words can't describe how much I hate her.

"Mrs. Campbell said she was a close friend of your father John Underhill, am I correct?" I was gonna say something until the look she gave me shut my mouth.

"Yeah, but not _that_ close," I muttered

"Oh Bree, you're being so modest!" she said dramatically. "Mr. Underhill couldn't make it, so I decided to come and will be paying for all the damages." I turned to protest but she shot me another warning look. I don't need to owe her shit!

"You don't have to do this you know," I growled.

"Actually I _do," _she gritted, breaking through her front.

Principal Lee began to look more worried the more he looked back and forth between us. "Do you guys want a minute alone?"

"Yes," we said without turning away from each other

He sat back in his chair lazily to show he'd wait as we walked outside of the room with our teeth bared at each other. Out in the hallway, I turned towards Gladys to see her glowering at me as if I forced her to come.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed

"Saving your butt! Your father went to look for a job and you know you can't afford to pay for any of those things!"

"I don't need your help!"

"Have you even considered what you've done today? You got into _two_ fights, not including your attitude with one of your teachers-!"

"-she my COACH! She couldn't earn a degree if it hit her in the face!"

"Do you think that matters to me?! All I want for you three is to have normal lives, so that you can put all that crap behind you! But you apparently don't want that for yourself!"

I didn't say anything after that, having a pretty good feeling at who was going to win this argument. Again. So I stayed quiet as she lowered her voice for what she was gonna say next.

"Remember what I said back at the mall? You don't have a choice in this, and all these fights aren't going to get you anywhere, so I suggest that you stop while you're ahead. So we're going to go back inside and act like _civilized_ people. Are we clear?"

But I didn't say anything as I marched back to the office and sulked into the seat. She followed a few second later and started writing the check to pay for the damages.

"My Bree, you certainly are causing me quite the bill!" She teased as she gave the principal a knowing look like they shared a secret. After scribbling a check she handed it to Dr. Lee with a bright smile. "I hope that settles the damages."

"It's plenty," he replied as he put the check in my folder. "Thank you. Now I hope that this never happens again."

"It certainly won't, Dr. Lee" She gave me a sour look. "Isn't that right Buttercup?"

"Yeah, whatever" I mumbled and sank lower into my seat counting the seconds to my freedom.

"Fantastic. Well now I suppose you should be okay to go back into class. Right now I believe you're supposed to be in Mr. Carter's Government class. It's in Building 2 and I'll be letting him know that you're coming."

* * *

_Meanwhile in Mr. Carter's class…_

As the teacher laid down the Committee system in Congress, he was oblivious to the students' boredom, but then again it wasn't like he cared. Butch and Baser sat all the way in the back as they tried to ease their suffering.

"Okay, I'd rather be in Lee's office than this hellhole," Baser muttered.

"Well how are you gonna get there? You know you can't get a pass from this prick," Butch scoffed in response.

"Watch and learn my young apprentice!"

Mr. Carter turned and gave the two boys an admonishing look. "_Pay attention_, I'm doing the lecture."

Baser raised his hand and tried to look innocent. "Mr. Carter, if I may ask, who is attention and how much should I pay him?"

The teacher rolled his eyes in response to the class's laughter. "Very cute. Now stop."

"Stop what? Should I stop taking notes?"

He started to grow more agitated with the teen. "Can you please-"

"-stop talking to you?"

"Stop this nonsense!"

"It's making perfect sense to me, sir."

"Stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"_Stop playing these games!_"

"What games are we playing?"

"If you keep doing this you will find yourself in the Principal's office!"

"_I had no idea you could do magic tricks, sir!"_

"YOUNG MAN!"

"...Sir?"

"**GET OUT!**_**"**_

As Baser started to pack his things he looked towards Butch with a sly grin. "Now _that_ was the most fun I've had all period." His friend smirked in agreement. Baser had to be the biggest troll he's ever met, if he attended class more instead of getting stoned the class might've been fun for once.

But as his friend started to leave, the spiky haired teen sulked in his chair with a pout, unsure of what to do with the time going so slow all by himself. As he exited the class, the intercom went off with the Principal's voice for an announcement.

_::Mr. Carter::_

_You will be having a student arrive by the name of Bree Underhill. Please let her inside._

_This outta be fun._ Butch slowly started to grin to himself after hearing this news. He was already thinking of what to do when she came into class and actually wished that class would be a little longer for when she comes.

* * *

-Buttercup-

As I was walking down the hallways I started of thinking of ways to pass time. Politics are a complete waste of my damn time and our government is living proof of that. So as I was walking I noticed someone from down the hall walking in my direction. But something about him looked _reeaaalllly _familiar.

He was wearing worn out cargos, a gray sweatshirt, and had lean muscles with shaggy hair that fell over his eyes. When he noticed me staring at him he glared back at me with an annoyed look on his face.

"If you got somethin to say, then say it!" he snapped. The voice said it all.

Holy Shit.

Holy Fucking Shit.

It's Mitch. Mitch Mitchelson! I tried to rub my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things, but there was no denying the person standing two feet from me. The hair, his clothes, his face… it was like nothing changed in the past ten years.

_Ten Years…_ Suddenly I started to have cold sweats thinking back to the Kindergarten we grew up in...

_I could hear the faint blaring coming from the __ambulances__, but they sounded miles away from the school. _

"_Mitch!" I tried to call out to him but he didn't answer back. It hurt so much to speak, like needles piercing down my throat every time I tried._

_I could see him lying still on the ground with a head injury. His eyes were wide open and turned an eerie bluish gray. _

"_**MITCH!"**_ _ I screamed as the needles dug deeper. But he just blankly stared at the black sky above us, the blood slowly trickling down his head and into the puddle that spread out beneath him. There was so much…_

_They wouldn't make it in time._

"_Please…Please don't die…!" I sobbed. I never felt so useless in my entire life. He was my best friend, my only friend. And all I could do is sit there and watch him bleed to death._

"_Please…" - _That was the last time I saw him alive.

There never was a mistake from the announcements.

Seventeen kids did die.

And the one survivor was glaring right at me.

"HEELLOOO!" he snapped his fingers to get my attention. "You still here?"

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't grasp my head around the fact that he was right in front of me. All those years of picturing him dead. The whole thing just seemed surreal.

"You survived…?" I whispered to myself.

He looked at me like I was mental. "Are you on something?" he hissed

I stared back in shock. Green eyes, short black hair and he still couldn't get a clue. "_Mitch!_ It's _me!_ Don't you remember?!" I demanded.

For a minute he gaped at me before his eyes narrowed in recognition and showed signs of rage. "Yeah. I remember you." He growled angrily.

I swallowed a huge lump in my throat, wishing I never said that. How could I forget about keeping my name a secret? Am I the only one having a hard time doing this? Now he knows who I am. Now he could go to the press. Now we'd be cursed all over again –

"You're the girl who knocked me out in dodge ball today!" He snapped.

_Thank GOD! _I let out a huge sigh in relief over how stupid Mitch was. Glad to see some things didn't change.

"Ooh -" I stopped when I saw how mad he looked, showing relief wouldn't be very smart. But then I paused for a minute at what he just said. "Wait a minute; _YOU'RE the retard I hit in the face earlier?!_"

He raised his eyebrows as he showed me a large dark reddish-purple mark on his forehead that was behind his bangs where the dodge ball hit. I couldn't stop myself from wincing at the sight of the mark.

"Ouch."

"Not very pretty, is it?" he spat.

"HEY BASER!" Before I could mutter an awkward apology, I looked up and saw the redhead from gym class walking towards Mitch with a happy expression before giving him a warm hug. "Where're you headed?" but when she noticed me she instantly looked pissed off. "And why are you talkin to _her?"_

"Trust me, I wouldn't worry about _her._" I admit that kinda hurt coming from someone I used to think of as my brother. Mitch turned back to me still looking annoyed. "Do me a favor, just stay away from me. I don't need any more bruises." He walked past me linking arms with the redhead as she sent an evil smirk in my direction. Bitch.

But as mad as I was, I couldn't come up with a snarky comment. I was too upset. I just saw my best friend from Kindergarten after ten years and not only did he completely forget about me, but he thinks I'm a total dyke. To make matters worse he's dating the girl who wants to carve my face in by the end of this week.

Loving this school so far!

There was no other reason to stay in this hallway after getting humiliated like that, especially with the chance that I might see those two again. So I instead trudged to my class before I get in trouble again for skipping, not knowing that someone even worse would be waiting for me the minute I stepped into the classroom.

* * *

AFTER SCHOOL, 3:30 PM

-Blossom-

"…So you're waiting in the car? Great. Thanks Gladys."

After shutting my phone, I sat anxiously in the Principal's office ready to get this over with so I could go home and prepare for my classes in advance.

He stepped inside and reached out to shake my hand as we introduced ourselves. Unlike the general stereotype of a principal, he looked really nice and caring, so I couldn't mess up my first impression.

As we sat down he had my records in his hands as he looked through them thoroughly. I could feel myself start to sweat thinking about how many lies had to be made in order for us to even come here in the first place unnoticed.

He looked up at me after he finished reading about my history. "So I hear you wanted to switch programs?"

"Yes." I straightened myself so that I could speak up a bit more. "When I heard about the Townville's Leading Scholarship Program I knew I wanted nothing more than to sign up as soon as possible."

"Well you're one of a select few that choose this path," he said with his eyebrows raised, clearly impressed with my ambition of choosing to do this on the first day. "It's very hard on all the students there as they get twice the workload in half the time."

"Sir, believe me when I say I'm perfectly capable of whatever you can give." I knew today would be the best time to do this after Buttercup's fight. By getting this scheduled now it gives me a chance to show Dr. Lee that Bubbles and I are still good students. It wouldn't be fair if we were on his bad side because of something that Buttercup did, and I was not going to be put under her shadow for what she chose to do and I refuse to let it affect my goals as a new student here.

"Usually I like to get some credentials from other sources, but I love seeing that confidence in you; it's something I haven't seen in years. You will be switched to your advanced classes by next Monday at the very least."

I smile brightened. I'm sure after this meeting he must be changing his mind on all of us, meaning Bubbles's name should be just as clear as mine's. "I truly appreciate this, sir. You won't be sorry!"

"I appreciate it as well. Have a good day Ms. Underhill." As we shook our hands for the last time I turned to exit the Main Office to meet my sisters in our old 1994 Buick Road Ranger.

* * *

-Brick-

"_Venire contugo al cine en viernes…"_

"_Iré CONTEEEGO al cine el viernes" _Bella corrected, stressing the vowel sound in _contigo_.

I groaned in response. When I agreed to learning Spanish with her I didn't think it'd take me an entire year to learn the stupid language. I was practically fluent in French anyway, so I figured it couldn't hurt to learn one more language. Bella noticed this and gave a look that hinted at a lecture.

"You can't just expect to learn an entire language in under a year!" she scolded, unaware of the fact that that was exactly what I was thinking. "It takes practice and discipline, and _years_ of studying!"

"What's wrong being ambitious?" I reasoned. Spanish couldn't be as hard as she makes it. Bella was always someone known for over exaggerating to prove a point.

"_Cortar la mierda._ Cut the crap. Let's go into commands."

"_Hazme un bocadillo." _

"Seriously?" but after a while I translated. "_Make me a sandwich._"

"_Estudia tu español."_

"Bella, that's not funny," she only giggled in response as I spoke again. _"Study your Spanish."_

"_Corta tu pelo!"_

"Okay I'm leaving." Before I could get up she wrapped her arms around my neck to keep me from escaping as she laughed at me.

"Okay! Okay! You win, no more! I'm done!" When I gave her a questioning look, she solemnly raised her hands "Scout's honor."

I sank back into her couch, grateful of that we were at her house rather than mines. There was that, and the fact that we were alone since her mom went on a business trip. Her house was designed in a modern style with Colombian blue walls and. A few yards to the left of the front door there was the living room with two couches including the one I was sitting on with Bella standing behind. The plasma screen TV was set up on the wall in front and the hallway leading to the rooms was behind us leading to the kitchen and the patio pool.

Wish I could live here for a day.

"Okay, one last command." Great. What else could she say to make me feel worse?

"_Besame." _She mused. That was something I could follow. I lifted my head and felt her soft full lips press into mines as she pulled me into a tight embrace. I snaked my arms around her waist to bring her to the couch but before a full make out session could start, I heard my phone vibrating off of the table.

"_**This is ground control to major Tom, you've really made the grade**__**…**__**  
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear**__**…**__**  
Now it's time to leave the capsule if you dare**__**…"**_

Suddenly my phone started to ring and Bella made a grab for it from the coffee table to see who was intruding. After a few seconds of wrestling, she wiggled out of my grasp and held the phone in triumph.

"Nope! It's mine now!" But her triumph changed into confusion as she stared at the caller ID. "Who's Butch…?"

"Just someone I know," I mumbled as I grabbed my phone and shoved it into my pocket, inwardly cursing at myself for doing something so stupid, but I was even more pissed off at Butch, who knows I hate getting calls when I'm with Bella. I turned back to see the brunette staring at me curiously, probably ready to question me on the unknown caller. As I was about to make up an excuse, she instead smirked at me mischievously.

"What was your ringtone?" she giggled.

I shrugged"It's just Bowie."

"_Who?"_

"David Bowie. Famous rock artist? Millions of fans?"

She gave me a blank stare. "I have no idea who the hell you're talking about." After seeing my face she started to defend herself. "I mean c'mon Brent that song's probably older than me. And why do you always have these old songs?!" She made a quick swipe for my phone to look at my playlist. "Bowie. Aerosmith. AC/DC, no one's heard of any of these people!"

I tried not to look offended. "Just because they're old doesn't mean they suck. I mean you are in the dance team so I think it'd be better if you actually broadened your scope of music to something besides what's on the radio's top ten."

But when she started to narrow her eyes, I knew went a bit too far and waited for the back lash. "Well _excusez-moi_ Senior-Smartass, but I happen to know a few songs from the past myself!" With that she took her iPod and plugged it into the radio to sing with the lyrics. "You'll love this one!"

"_**You'll never find…**_

_**It'll take you the end of all time…**_

_**Someone to understand you, like I do…"**_

Is this supposed to make me laugh?

"Pretty much. Let's face it Brent, most of the time you look like a grouch!"

_**Oh I'm not trying to make you stay, baby…**_

_**But I know somehow, someday, somewa…y!**_

When the chorus came she started to dance right to the rhythm with the biggest grin on her face. I raised an eyebrow at her. Sometimes I swear Bella can act like a total dork.

But over the loud music, I heard the door slowly click and turned to see Butch with his phone recording the whole scene as he bit his lip to keep himself from laughing. I was gonna say something but decided to keep quiet; serves her right for makin fun of my Spanish.

_**You're gonna miss my lovin'…**_

_**You're gonna miss my lovin'…**_

_**You're gonna miss my lo…ve**_

When I figured that was enough recording I looked up at my clueless girlfriend trying to hold back a smirk. "Bells?" She looked up at me and grinned at the fact that I was smiling. I almost felt embarrassed for her. "Could you do say hi to the camera for me" I pointed to where Butch was standing, who finally started to speak as he recorded the whole thing.

"Posting this to YouTube as we speak," Bella gasped in horror at what she just did in front of millions of people and at that point I was on the floor laughing at her.

"BLAYKE! GIMME THE PHONE!"

"_Give a nice round of applause to our performer, viewers!"_ Butch laughed taking hold of Bella so that the phone camera got a nice image of her face. At this point I felt like my lungs were gonna burst, probably the most I've laughed all day.

"_Brent!" _Bella started to pout, so I decided she's had enough torment. "Okay Blayke, close the video."

"But this could make millions of view!" I glowered at him to show I wasn't joking.

"_But Brent!"_ He whined in Bella's tone. When I didn't budge he shut the phone irritably.

"Thank you," she said, composed and proper now that she was in front of guests. But after a moment we exchanged knowing glances; we removed the video from the Internet, but that didn't mean that we would delete it off of the phone too.

"How'd you get a key to my house."

"I didn't. Took Brent's instead." He roamed around the living room without taking notice of me glaring at him.

"Nice place you got! Wouldn't mind throwing a party in here!"

"Don't even. Every party you throw involves cops and the host's house looking like crap, so I don't wanna part of that. Why can't you throw one at your house?"

"Because then _my _house would look like crap!" And because of the fact that we can't have any visitors period, something Bella's been bugging me about for three months now.

"By the way, can you ask Brandon about the dance team one last time?"

"Why would he join you're team?"

"Because he's _awesome,_ and plus," her face suddenly fell as she sat back on the couch to lie on my chest as I wrapped my arm around her petite shoulders. "We never really got a comeback after Julian left."

"I think that guys just a sore loser!" He snorted as he joined us on the couch. For once I agreed with him, wishing Bell would move on from it. If he can't get over it in a year, I don't think there's a chance of him moving on anytime soon.

Bella gave him a look in response. "Well, when someone steals your girlfriend would you wanna see her every day?"I snorted to myself. _How about seeing the guy who TOOK your girlfriend everyday as team captain of the team you're on?_

"I wouldn't give a fuck!" he scoffed. Complete Bullshit. If Butch had a girl he _really_ cared about, there's no way he'd act the way Bella's ex would. He'd react worse. Much, much worse.

When Butch's phone rang he didn't even take a look to see who was calling before he grabbed his bags and ran for the door.

"Shit! I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I looked up at him in curiosity. Why would he be in such a rush at a phone call? "Where're you goin?"

"Out. Later!"

Upon seeing my reaction, Bella chuckled lightheartedly. "Why do you look so suspicious? If anything, he's just going out to get laid."

I sat back on the couch and puffed some strands of hair from my eyes. She's probably right, and I shouldn't waste my time worrying, but something about the way Butch was acting recently made me wonder what was exactly going on in his head.

But I could worry about that later.

"Sssooo…" I closed my eyes and waited for her sweet response. Butch could jump off a cliff for all I cared, because all that mattered to me now was enjoying the last few minutes I had with Bell before I had to go home.

"Let's get back to Spanish! Don't gimme that look, we have to make sure you're perfect at this! Now _repita después de mi, por favor. Los aves están volando encima de… __OYE! DESPIERTATE!"_

* * *

-Buttercup-

_10:36 PM…_

"ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASSES!?" I tried to glance back and forth between the two to see if they were kidding, but with how stern they looked it sounded like the real deal.

"When you left for class we discussed the idea. Dr. Lee said that your reaction to the news would prove if whether or not you really needed it, and I think he just made his point with you," Gladys responded calmly.

"Why the hell do I have to go there?! I'm not a psycho!" I shouted.

"You sure act like it," Blossom muttered from the dining table with her face glued to her textbook.

"Mind your own business, Pinky!" I turned to the Professor in protest. "I don't need to go to any stupid classes!"

"Buttercup," The Professor began as he knit his eyebrows together. "I think if you took a second and thought back to what you did today you'd understand where we're coming from."

I turned back to Gladys in dismay. "You told him?"

"Didn't need to. Your principal sent him a voicemail. Buttercup I really think you should try this. Dr. Lee suggested his brother's anger management classes because it's been highly recommended by so many people who've seen results! And Dr. Lee said he noticed all the signs of someone who needed these classes when he met you today."

I stammered to try and find something else to say. "T-This isn't your business either!"

"Buttercup!" The Professor yelled. I quickly focused on the floor under me because I was afraid of looking him in the eye. "It doesn't matter how you feel about this or how unfair it may be, you're going to these classes. And _if_ I see improvement in your behavior you _might_ be able to stop taking these classes. But until that happens I don't want to hear another word from you on this subject. _Do I make myself clear?_"

Still looking at the floor I clenched my fists in aggravation. "Yes sir." I stuck up for Bubbles. I stuck up for someone I met 12 hours ago! Why was I being punished when all I wanted to do was help!

"Good. You'll be starting tomorrow afternoon at six." With a deep sigh he walked towards his room, already tired from raising his voice more than usual. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be in my room researching."

Blossom looked up from her book at this, always ready to get on Professor's good side. Kiss up. "So I take it you found a job?"

The Professor gave her a bright grin at his good news. He always perked up at the chance to talk about science."Yes, actually. I'm working with other biochemists at a local research facility. I decided to get started on the external research project early." With that he closed the door to work at his desk.

_A few minutes later…_

I came out with my soccer sweats and an old green hoodie to leave the flat.

"Bye."

Blossom rose her head from her book,. "Where're you going?"

"Jogging."

She squinted her eyes at me in suspicion. "It's ten o'clock Buttercup." I groaned in response. With everything that's happened today, that one comment was all I needed before I finally snapped.

"_And!?_ I found out my teachers are morons, deal with a fucking leprechaun in gym that won't leave me alone, go to the principal's office and almost got expelled because of some bitch has a silver spoon up her ass, deal with the most annoying waste of life for TWO classes, and now I have to go take classes on how I FEEL while Princess takes a fucking shopping spree with Gladys's check, because apparently it isn't right to stick up for your sister! SO IF I WANNA TAKE SOME TIME TO MYSELF, I THINK THAT SHOULD BE OKAY!"

There was a moment of silence before Bubbles broke in.

"Well, I hope you have fun!" I blankly stared at her. _Only Bubbles…_

Blossom just shook her head with a disappointed look and turned back to her book. I've always hated that about her! Giving me and Bubbles that condescending look like she knows everything, but of course she couldn't have been more oblivious.

"Oh and by the way I met Mitch today. Be back in an hour."

With that I slammed the door shut just as Blossom's jaw dropped. No, it wasn't going to do anything for me, but at least I could see the surprise on her face to show her she wasn't as smart as she thought she was. Now maybe I could cool off with an hour to myself, something that's always helped me before.

_Midnight…_

I've been out for two hours and I still feel pissed! In fact I feel _worse!_ I hate this town, I hate my school, I hate my teachers, I hate my classmates, and Gladys could burn in hell for all I care!

Since running wasn't going anywhere, I stopped to sit at the curb of the sidewalk where the Townsville City Bank stood, something I passed three times so far tonight. Every time I tried to look up lights from traffic lights and buildings blinded me with how bright they were, and I thought back to how Western Pines would be pitch black by nine o'clock. Even though we traveled out of the state we were in, it felt like I was in a whole new country, none of these things seemed to remind me of the Townsville I grew up in.

How could a place be so familiar yet so unfamiliar to me at the same time? I keep looking for someone I knew from before, who might just take a second look at me. Not something that'll expose us for good, but something that makes me feel like I was… _memorable._

It's like the monument we saw yesterday never happened, and Townsville just moved on like we never meant anything to them. Even Mitch forgot about me! We spent every waking minute together. How could he just walk past without even recognizing the girl he used to be best friends with? It was like we never existed.

And I'm not gonna sit here like a kid and say _"I'm too tough to feel sad!"_ It _hurts_. It hurts _so fucking much_ to know that I was just a toy to everyone! That I shed my blood, sweat, and tears over these people so that I could be tossed to the curb like trash, or garbage, or like…

Like I just didn't matter.

When we couldn't use our powers, it was like we got kicked to the curb, and the hypocrites that we called our "FRIENDS" suddenly had better things to do. Funny how you find yourself with all these people who say they love you until you need them most.

And I hate it. I HATE being a shadow of who I was. I wanna scream, raise my voice, fly to the tallest building in this whole freaking town and yell _"I'M BUTTERCUP UTONIUM AND I'M NOT AFRAID TO SAY IT, BITCHES!"_ and make them sorry for ever forgetting someone guarded this town with her life!

But as much as I can bitch and moan about how unfair it is all night, it won't make a difference. Nothing I do makes a difference anymore. I could feel water stinging my eyes at how useless I felt but I furiously blinked back those tears. Crying wasn't gonna do anything for me and I'll be damned before I go back home looking like a pussy.

_Move on. Get over it. They couldn't give a flying fuck if you lived or not; so why should you?_ I flipped the hood over my head and started to jog past the entrance of the bank, my mind made up on this whole subject.

_Move on._ If I just keep thinking that way, I might just start doing that.

All of a sudden the building exploded and knocked me back into a woman trying to get her daughter away from the fire. I got up to see people running –no, _sprinting_– from the flaming bank as burning smoke filled the entrance. I veered around trying to find a way out, but everything was so blurry with everyone running and screaming, trying to find an escape from the chaos. I kept my hood low and used my X-ray vision to find a way out of the hysterical crowd and saw the burning entrance.

The whole place was a mess. All the walls were torn down and the counters were practically blown over. A wave of nausea fell over as the scene looked way too familiar to something else. But no signs of where the blowup started. Definitely a robbery going on here.

But when I looked up to the second floor I could feel the blood drain from my face. There was a small girl up there trapped in a corner behind a piece of the ceiling that broke off. _What the hell is she doing here at midnight in the first place!_

The way the fire was going to block the entrance and would eventually make the entire floor collapse, and that girl would've been as good as gone. I strained my ears to hear the firefighters coming, but there's no way they could make it in time. Even if they did they wouldn't be able to see her behind that think.

I leaped over the yellow tape and ran up the steps to the main entrance. Sure these good for nothing morons didn't deserve my sympathy, but this girl had nothing to do with my situation. Why should she have to die when I could so easily save her? I couldn't stand there and let her die, that much I knew.

"_Hey kid! Stop!_" an officer yelled. But at the rate they're going, they won't even be able to save the girl's body from being turned to dust. I tore through the glass and frantically looked around. All I could see was smog and flames covering the floors. I switched back to X-ray vision to find the stairway and flew straight for it; nobody could see a thing in this smoke.

When I got to the second floor I saw the kid still huddled in that corner by the window just as the fire started to graze the wall.

"HEY KID!" I shouted before choking on the smoke. I wouldn't make it for long in here either, so I had to be quick. I ran towards her as the flames caught onto my clothes. When I saw her she thankfully only had a few burns but was choking under the smoke. There's no way I could escape with her from the stairs without flying, and that's the only way off of this floor.

I raised my head to the window and saw fire trucks wailing from the main entrance below and i got an idea. _If I could just get their attention…_

I reached for her but the wall blocked my way. "Take my hand!" But the girl tucked herself in even closer at the sight of me. More of the ceiling started to collapse from behind me and I knew if this girl didn't take my hand, we'd both be dead in the next five minutes.

"_YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME! YOU DON'T WANNA DIE, DO YOU?!"_ I shouted over the flames. The girl started to consider her options. Stay in this corner and burn to death, or take her chances with a hooded stranger. The flames were starting to touch at the soles of my sneakers. _Please take my hand…_

She eventually reached out to grab my hand and I pulled her from the corner just as my shoes were about to get caught in the fire. Lifting her on the open windowsill I tried to get the firefighters' attention.

"You've gotta wave your arms for me okay!" She followed orders as we both waved frantically for help. Sure enough the firefighters took notice and huddled under the two-story window signaling for me to drop her. Not a good idea. I tried to find another way, but by now the staircase was covered in flames. As bad as it sounded, this was her best option at this point.

I tried to speak in a soft voice to keep her calm. "Okay kiddo, now I'm gonna let go…" I couldn't finish before she sent me a terrified look and shook her head vigorously. "…but you have to trust me! Everything's gonna be okay!"

Tears flowed down her cheeks but she slowly started to nod her head. I gazed down at the fifty foot drop. _I swear to God if they drop her…_

"Make sure you hold your legs together and stay still!" I yelled over the approaching fire. "Got it? Good! Now in Three… Two… One… GO!" I let go of her as she flew down following everything I told her. In a few seconds, she fell right into the arms of one of the firefighters who took her straight to an ambulance. They may not be my favorites, but at least these people could do their jobs right.

I flew back downstairs as the flames were just starting to give out and saw a shadowy figure by the reserves in a fireproof jumpsuit wearing both a ski and hockey mask as he shoved loads of cash into two large bags. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't turn away from him as he shoved the money, not giving a second thought to the people he almost killed. He deserved to get his butt kicked for what he did to that girl, but he was just gonna walk away without a scratch on him!

I slowly flew down to the figure with my fists clenched. I thought of earlier and realized that I didn't need anyone's approval to do the things I want. Fighting crime is something that wouldn't do for anybody but myself!

And I was gonna prove it starting with this asshole

* * *

-Butch-

When I filled the bags to the brim I stood back to see how much I got.

_Let's see… from the looks of it this is 3…4… 500,000… 700…a million…?_

Whatever - This is a shitload of money.

_Well Butch, you certainly have done well for yourself_. Now that I think about it, ever since those girls croaked every place that I've robbed in Townsville's been a cakewalk. It's like they're not even trying anymore!

But I must admit it's gotten a lot more boring since Brick stopped coming with me, but now he wants to spend all his time with his _"girlfriend"._ This guy used to play with chicks like they were toys and they would _still_ come back to him like they were lost puppies, _why would you give that up!?_ After that I lost all respect for that species, cause they're all fucking morons.

And then he has the balls to come around and get mad at me for what _I'm_ doing? We've been breaking laws since we were in diapers! And now they want to play the high and mighty card and just _quit?_ Not me. I was born a criminal, I'm gonna stay a criminal, and there ain't nothin I'm gonna be but a criminal!

As I lugged the two bags over my shoulders I turned around to see a small figure approaching me. When I sharpened my vision I could see the person had on a hoodie a size too big and some sweats like they came from a soccer field.

"Uh.. are you lookin for the bathroom or sumthin kid?"

But he didn't answer and instead formed a fighting stance like he was gonna fight me. For a minute I didn't say anything, but who am I kidding? I laughed so hard I almost dropped the money bags.

"Okay look kiddo, you caught me in a real good mood. So I suggest you leave now while I'm still feelin generous."

But he didn't budge. I let out a deep breath and set down the bags. _Everybody wants to be a hero…_

I looked at my watch. _12:52_. I'm not putting any effort into this. I grabbed a rock that was a little bigger than my hand, more or less and sized it up a bit to get a grip. The very next second, I hurled it at the kid in lightning speed. He flipped over just missing the rock and landed on the wall before charging at me. I gotta give him credit though; He was_ fast! _Leaping in midair, he sent a kick to my head. I barely blocked it with my left arm and countered with a right hook to his cheek. He avoided it easy and swung a fist straight to my head making my stagger back in shock.

"_AGH!" FUCK!_ Okay, now THAT hurt! I finally looked up to see the figure running towards me and felt a sharp blow to my gut that had me double over. And before I could react, he tripped me from behind, causing me to land flat on my back and knocked the air right outta me leaving me in a vulnerable position.

_Move…goddammit MOVE!_

But all I could do was groan as I heard his footsteps coming closer. He stopped right next to my face and knelt close to my ear to say something.

"_Next time, keep your generosity to yourself." _Fury flowed through my veins as I tried to force myself up. I don't lose fights. In fact I _NEVER_ lost in a fight and this sure as hell wasn't gonna be my first! _Just gimme two more seconds-_

"FREEZE!" When I finally got up I saw a hoard of SWAT team officers pointing their guns at me and the guy in the hoodie was nowhere in sight. I glared angrily at the officers. The stupid kid took off thanks to them!

The leader stepped up front with a semiautomatic pointed at my face. "DON'T YOU DARE TRY AND RUN THIS TIME YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

_Well I don't think I was planning to till you guys showed up. _I measured my odds. There's no way I could take him on my own, or at least not without getting caught. So I took my chances and ran for the back exit. I could feel the bullets tearing through the fabric, but their guns won't make a single dent on me. The fact that they try is almost sad.

When I came to the fence in the back parking lot I took a starting leap from a garbage can and jumped right over. After I landed I knew there was no way those officers could catch me at this point, not with how slow they are. Looking back to see how pissed off the leader almost made me feel better about tonight before I crossed the street and took off into the dark alleys.

* * *

The minute the Target ran, SWAT team captain Russell Cross charged for him knowing exactly where he was headed. As he tore through the back doors he switched the semiautomatic with a machine pistol and began shooting multiple rounds at the figure running for the fence; he REFUSED to lose the Target this time! If he made it over, there's no telling when they were gonna find another chance like this.

But no matter how many times he shot the felon, he still kept running without a single flinch. When he reached the eight foot fence he made a clean leap over and ran into the streets before Cross could even make it out of the back door, but that didn't stop him from shooting another round of bullets at him until his load was empty, filling him with even more fury.

"_GODDAMN HIM!"_ In rage he threw his helmet to the concrete and spat a round of curses as his team made it to the back parking lot.

_Six months, _he thought bitterly to himself. Six months and not a single clue. No footprints, hairs, blood or even a scrap of fabric. He was like a ghost that faded away every time Cross had him in his hands. The only bright side to the situation was the fact that no matter how many close calls he was from getting caught, he was always gonna come back to pull another crime, as though he did it just for the fun of it.

_With the way he acts he can't be older than eighteen_, the captain thought to himself.

_But why was he so damn hard to catch?_

"Captain."

"What!" he snapped, clearly not in the mood for more bad news.

"The majority of us noticed that the Target looked injured as he made his escape?"

_Tell me why I'm supposed to care?_ "Elaborate," Cross heavily sighed. At least it wasn't bad news.

"Observations showed he had a slight limp from his right ankle, a cut from the left temple, and an injury to the abdomen." The officer, Ian Taylor, cleared his voice at what he was about to say next, knowing it would catch his captain's interest.

"These injuries were caused by someone involved in an altercation with the Target."

Sure enough the captain turned to the officer that had his full attention eager for more details. "Elaborate Taylor! I need specifics!"

"The figure came in with a dark green hoodie, black sweatpants, and Nike running shoes. The figure also protected the thoracic cavity heavily, suggesting the gender to be female. The approximate measurements look to be 5'4 and 121 pounds. But due to the oversized clothing, this is all we know of the subject."

"And she stood a _chance?_" The captain gave Taylor a skeptical look thinking there was something wrong with his eyes. Someone of such a slender figure couldn't possibly fight their Target, much less make it a challenge.

"Pardon my French sir," he replied with a ghost of a smile, "but the lot of us agree she was kicking his ass." This was followed by muffled snickers by the team.

Cross raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He turned back to the fence to think about this. Yes, she was small, thin, and a _girl_, but she had that boy running with his tail between his legs, something that his team had yet to do, not excluding himself. He looked down to the streets where his Target had escaped, probably thinking about how he got away from the police yet again, not even realizing that the captain had just found his kryptonite.

"Is there footage of this encounter?" When the team confirmed this Cross felt a glimmer of hope he was sure had abandoned him months ago.

Something he wasn't about to let go of so easily. "Alright boys let's move it! I want to see every nook and cranny of that girl from hair color to her goddamn shoe size! _We are NOT losing this trace_!"

As the troops headed back into the building, Taylor stayed behind and observed the captain. "Sir?"

Cross looked towards the officer. "Is there anything else you'd like?"

The captain felt a surge of gratitude for his officer's reliance. "In fact, yes. I need the records of the Townsville Residency Records. See if you could find any new arrivals within the past two weeks." With that officer Taylor set off to do his duty.

Cross turned back to the fence one last time before going back into the building. Of course there would be setbacks. They may have the wrong evidence and may never find this girl, but Cross was sure about this lead. Just hearing about how she fought Townsville's worst nightmare so suddenly made her just as impulsive as his Target.

_Like two rats in a cage,_ he thought. The only question was how to bring them together, and he had a good feeling that that wouldn't take very long.

"Just you wait," Cross muttered to himself. That little bastard wasn't gonna win this – not by a long shot.

Taking his last look at the streets, he finally turned back to where the others were to continue the investigation. And for the first time in his entire career, Captain Russel Cross came out of the crime scene with a smile on his face.

* * *

-Buttercup-

As much as I should be worrying about what I just did, I had more important things on my mind, like my curfew. When I finally made it to the flat it was almost two o'clock, way past the twelve o'clock deadline the Professor set. On my way to our floor, I noticed for one thing that the parking lot was empty, meaning that Gladys had to be back at her place, and that the lights were still on, probably the Professor wondering why I'm so late.

I probably looked exhausted with my hair all over the place and my clothes stretched out, but at least it'll look like I actually did a workout, so I _might_ have a decent excuse. I looked at the doorknob as I tried to brace myself.

_Please let the Professor be asleep… _I turned the doorknob as quietly as I could, praying that I wouldn't find him standing there waiting for me.

When it was just a crack open, I peeked through to see Blossom in the same place as before and Bubbles reading an old edition of _Seventeen_ magazine by the TV, but no sign of the Professor anywhere.

I came in and tore off my sweater fast. The charred burns on my sweats shouldn't be too obvious, but the sweater would've been a dead giveaway. Blossom turned at the sound of the door close and closed her book when she saw me. I couldn't help but notice how tired they both looked, already in their pajamas looking like they hadn't slept at all, making me feel even worse. They were waiting for me this entire time just to make sure I was okay, while I just yelled at them over something that wasn't their fault. Some sister I am.

"Been out for a while. How was it?" Odd. She definitely wasn't in the mood to be friendly when I left. Guess she forgot about my stunning revelation four hours ago.

"S'okay." I shrugged my shoulders like I didn't care and tried to avoid her gaze. If she saw something off about me, she wouldn't stop until I told her about it.

"Feel better?" after this I noticed Bubbles lower her magazine ever so slightly to eavesdrop on our conversation, something she's been doing a lot lately.

"Yeah. In fact," I started to grin inwardly at how truthful I was being, "I feel great."

My sisters looked mildly surprised for a minute, but then they packed their things for bed, probably thinking that all I needed was a little outlet. If only they knew.

Just when I thought I couldn't feel worse, Bubbles turned from her room door and smiled sadly at me.

"It's not like we were waiting to interrogate you, Buttercup. We just wanted to make sure you were okay since you were out so late."

I gave her a dubious look. "Bubbles, I can lift this entire apartment building with one finger, so I don't think_ I'm _the one you should be worrying about."

"That doesn't matter!" she yelled suddenly. "It's dangerous out there! In fact there was this one robbery at the city bank that started a huge fire and had so many people hurt! Then there was this kid-"

"-well that sucks. G'Night!" I said quickly before I sped into my room and locked the door shut. With my back to the door, I slid down to the floor feeling grateful for this one moment of silence all day. I knew they were gonna have something to say about what happened just now, but that's something I can deal with tomorrow.

I opened my eyes after a while and took in my room. Sure it wasn't like the one back at Western Pines, but it still looked pretty cool. Me and Blossom worked on it the minute we came home as a way of decorating the place. The walls were made out of brick material except the pieces came in shades of green from light to dark and there were no lines between them, making them overlap each other. The floor was dark green to match the colors of the wall and around my walls were pictures of Metallica, Chevelle, and on the ceiling on top of my bed Blossom painted: **BC FR LIFE **in large dark red graffiti letters. She had an issue with it at first (it used to say Buttercup), but I eventually pushed her into it. I didn't see the big deal. I'm supposed to be dead anyways.

I looked down at my charred sweater and wondered if I could ever wear it again. But with the gaping holes going through the front, the back and the hood, I don't think so.

Was it even worth it? I mean, what was I trying to prove? _'I'm Big-Bad-Buttercup, so I don't get told what to do'_? I mean it's pretty obvious I can't do that again, so why bother?

But thinking back to the city bank gave me this incredible feeling, like back when I was five and kicked ass on a regular. I don't know how to really describe it, but it felt…_liberating_. It felt like I was actually living for something and for once I wasn't so afraid to do something that made me happy. Why is it such a bad thing for me to just be happy over who I'm supposed to be? Heck, I bet the people over there have already forgot about it!

To prove my point, I hopped onto my bed and switch on my TV.

"_**-An extraordinary event occurred here at the City Bank when a masked hero-"**_

"_**-Many lives were spared today thanks to a courageous woman-"**_

"_**-A hooded heroine came to the rescue of a little girl who's here to speak with us now-"**_

"_**-Who is this hero that suddenly disappeared-"**_

"_**-Well I don't know who this girl is, but we could definitely use more people like her in this town!-"**_

"_**-Has Townsville found its guardian angel?-"**_

"_**-Hero-!"**_

"_**-Savior-!"**_

"_**-A Miracle-!"**_

_Hooded Heroine? _Okay so I was dead wrong. I shut the TV off quick and turned on the radio to try and forget about what I just heard as I sank into my pillows. The sound of the electric guitar gradually filled the room as I cleared my head.

"_**Where is my mind…?**_

_**Where is my mind…?**_

_**Whe…re is my mind?"**_ When I looked up at the red graffiti above me, I realized that this thing wasn't going away anytime soon.

But why is that supposed to be a bad thing? I just saved countless people from getting hurt, including a girl who was about to get burned alive! But I knew what would happen if I told them. Blossom would yell at me, Gladys would yell louder, Bubbles would stare at me, and the Professor would give me that look that said _'Did you learn anything?'_ And of course I did! I learned that you can't disobey orders, you have to follow your leader, and you have to restrain your powers.

…

So I broke all of them; but I'm not doing anything wrong! I'm helping people, why can't anyone see that! I was designed to be a hero. It's what I love to do, and I'm not doing it for the sake of the people, but for the sake of my _sanity_.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not crazy, but it's like we pretend the Powerpuff Girls didn't exist before yesterday; like WE never existed! And if that's what my life's gonna be like, then I'd rather be back in the hick town where people actually knew who I was!

I hugged my knees close to me and looked through my window at a sea of towers to the shore below me, feeling like an alien in a place that I used to call home. Letting out a sigh in defeat, I closed my eyes to make my third and final resolution to this.

No matter what happened today, I knew that tomorrow I'd be going back to my _'normal'_ life where everybody steps on us. And I could bitch and moan all night about how it's not fair, but that's not gonna change the fact that I'm still dealing with their crap.

I turned off the lights and laid on my bed to try and sleep for a few hours. I guess I might as well get used to this since my old life is probably gone by now, meaning that nobody could know who really saved them tonight…

"_**I don't know who this girl is, but we could definitely use more people like her"**_

…but that didn't mean I had to stop.

* * *

-Blossom-

Even though my sisters already went to bed, I figured I could clean up the house a bit before heading to my room. After trying to decorate, the whole place looked like a mess. It took a while, but when I finished the place practically sparkled. Grinning to myself with pride I went to Bubbles's door to tell her goodnight.

But when I headed to Buttercup's door, I stopped myself at the smell of burnt fabric in the hallway. Not enough to set off the alarm, but was still enough for me to track it if I strained my senses. As I came closer, the smell got even stronger and filled my lungs. But oddly enough, it seemed really familiar.

Using my X-ray vision I realized Buttercup was fast asleep with no signs of a fire starting at all. But when I looked at her clothes they were covered in burnt marks like she was in a fire.

When Buttercup came inside, I could've sworn I smelled a fire, but I mistook that for the Professor's cooking.

I left for my room to go to bed, but no matter how much i tried, I couldn't shake the uneasy feeling inside of me over the whole thing. I thought back to why the smell seemed so familiar was so familiar and it finally clicked.

_The Robbery..._

Buttercup was out for a while, could she have gotten caught in the fire?

"_-well that sucks. G'Night!"_

Or was it something else?

* * *

-Butch-

I didn't stop running until I was at least five miles away from the bank before I ended up in a secluded alleyway in the middle of Townsville's slums, which was pretty empty except for the large dumpster on the side. After running for close to an hour, I finally lost it.

I bellowed as I grabbed the dumpster and hurled it across the alley hearing the metal clash and screech against the brick wall as it echoed across the alleys. But I couldn't stop there. After a few seconds I threw my fist at the nearest wall, making huge dents that could've drove through the wall if I hit the same spot twice in a row. But I didn't care. All I could think about was the sound of that kid's bones cracking in my hands and wished that he were here right now so I could do just that.

But as I heard the lights come off from the inside of the buildings I trudged away so no one would find me as they came outside.

_Bullshit,_ I thought bitterly to myself. I've taken on just about the strongest people in this goddamn city, so I sure as hell ain't gonna lose to this kid!

That little shit caught me by surprise! How was I supposed to know that someone who was shorter than Snooki could fight like that? I mean it's not like I thought of using X-ray vision on someone who looked like they were twelve! With those giant sweats he looked thin as fuck, but I bet under all that crap was a druggie, cause there's no way someone his size is _that _strong. I don't care what sort of training you're on, I can lift three freaking trucks on one hand like they were paper, so the only way someone has a _chance_ at beating me is if he's taking some scary shit.

Then again that's the same thing that people said about me… but that's different!

I have superstrength; this guy has steroids.

When I was far enough I took off both of the masks so that I could actually breathe. I only wanted to wear one, but even as a kid, Brick's been serious about this sort of stuff and how we can't give out our identities. I don't see why not! We could take over this entire fucking planet if we wanted to! My phone started to ring from the back pocket of the jumpsuit. _Speak of the devil._

_**::Brick::**_

_**I don't care who you're fucking. I want you home. Now.**_

I snapped my phone shut and made my way out of the slums and towards the back of Townsville to our house. Everybody turns a blind eye to this place anyway (Townsville's apparently to damn perfect to have a ghetto), so there isn't a good chance of us getting caught. As I was getting closer to the border between Townsville and the forest, I came near a flickering streetlight with a puddle underneath it, thinking back to the blow I took from that midget. By now it healed, but the side of my face was caked with dried blood. If Brick saw me like this he'd go apeshit, and I could kiss my criminal career goodbye.

I heard my phone ring off again pressed it against my bloody face."Calm your tits Rapunzel, I'm coming!" hanging up the phone I quickly rubbed some of the water against my face to clean up my face. When I saw my reflection against the light there wasn't a drop of blood in sight, meaning my ass would be spared for another night.

That is if I make it home before Brick loses it.

But as I got up, I couldn't get my mind off of that one moment where I was lying on my back, completely vulnerable to this guy. Why didn't he finish me off? Yeah there were cops but he could've killed me off easy from that position. As I thought about it, I could feel myself shaking with rage.

_He felt sorry for me…_

_That son of a bitch felt sorry for me._

Looking down at the puddle I could even _see _him laughing at me like I was some joke. Like I was useless.

_**That's because you are.**_

"Shut up."

_**And you know it.**_

"Shut. Up."

_**You. Are. Useless.**_

"**I SAID SHUT UP!" **I tore at the puddle until there was nothing left and ran my shaky fingers through my hair as I tried to get him to leave me alone. I was not useless, and I'll be damned before someone else calls me that.

And I'll prove it starting with that kid.

I'll prove him wrong; I'll show him next time that he was better off keeping his damn pity for himself, cause the next time I see him, he's gonna need it.

_Just wait. _I'll find him. Even if I have to put this city on it's goddamned knees, I'll find that little fucker and have him begging for his life.

It'll only be a matter of time…

* * *

So what'll happen when they meet again? That's what next chapter's for!

Super long chapter again (in fact, this one was even longer), but yeah hope things kicked up a bit from last time. Butch seems a little crazy –just a cinch– but of course everything has to be explained later on in the story, which by the way I really hope you guys are enjoying. If so, feel free to give me a review!

BTW, starting to think I could really use a beta. Someone who could provide some really good criticism of my writing so I can expand it a little better. (PS Be prepared to receive some major spoiler alerts from the story!). Any volunteers, please PM me and you'll make my day 10 times better :D.

Songs:

- David Bowie: Space Oddity

- Lou Rawls: You'll never find a love like mine (anyone wanna take a guess at what kid show Bella got this from?)

- The Pixies: Where is My Mind

Next chapter there's probably going to be a lot of scenes for the blues, they've been terribly neglected. (Sorry red fans, I don't see a big chapter coming for them soon), but it might take a while because I might have to split off the chapter into two sections again.

But I really hope you liked it, review, and Ta-Ta!


	7. Changing One's Image

Here's Chapter 7. Took a while and I must say it's pretty casual. More on high school things, I suppose. But I hope you guys enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Powerpuff Girls in any way, shape or manner as the rights belong to Craig McCracken.

* * *

_-Buttercup- _

_JANUARY 15, 11:01 AM…_

…

_Everything hurts…_

_Everything burns…_

_But why? Why does everything hurt so bad? My head was swimming to try and find answers, but I couldn't even think straight. Waking up I felt a rough jagged edge ready to tear at the skin on my stomach and a haunting red smoke surrounding me. My body felt so heavy but it was like I was hanging from thin air. Where the hell am I?_

_Suddenly, I heard a small voice coming from the smoke._

"…_Buttercup…"_

"_Blossom?" my voice was so small I could barely hear it myself. I tried to push the sharp piece away from me, but my limbs burned so much, I let go of my grip just as soon as I was about to get up, forcing the edge to go even deeper into my gut as I moaned in pain._

"…_Buttercup…! …Bubbles…!"_

_BUBBLES!_

_Where is she? Why isn't she here!? I started to whip my head around in panic as my eyes adjusted to the red smoke. Why's everything so red? I couldn't find Bubbles anywhere. _

_WHERE ARE WE? I looked down to see myself lying on top of a broken wall and Mitch lying below me in a pool of blood as my heart stopped. __I could hear the faint blaring coming from the ambulances__, but they sounded miles away from the school. _

"_Mitch!" It hurt so much to speak, like sharp needles piercing down my throat. _

_But he never answered. I could see him lying still on the ground with his face caked in blood as his eyes turned an eerie bluish gray. _

"_**MITCH!"**_ _ I screamed as the needles dug deeper. But he just blankly stared at the black sky above us, the blood slowly trickling down his head and into the puddle that spread out beneath him. I started trembling with fear as I began to face the truth._

"_Please…Please don't die…!" I sobbed. I never felt so useless in my entire life. He was my best friend, my only friend. And all I could do is sit there and watch him bleed to death._

"_Please…"_

_But he was dead. I knew he was._

"_No!" I couldn't stop crying, the pain was so bad. I felt like I was burning from the inside out. Suddenly I slipped from the wall, landing on the hard cracked concrete like hot coals burning my skin in the empty room. Hugging my knees I cried silently to myself._

"_It hurts…it hurts…"_

"_Somebody…" I started to fade into the dark. I'm still burning. It still hurts._

"_Somebody…"_

…_help me leave this Hell._

* * *

Chapter 7: Changing One's Image

_The following morning the apartment undergone its usual hectic course before the girls headed off for their second day of high school. Blossom finished the last of her toast and snatched her bag to run for the door before shouting to her sisters._

-Blossom-

"Buttercup! Bubbles! Hurry up we're about to be late!"

"Coming!" Bubbles finally came out wearing a light blue Lilly Pulitzer dress with low silver wedges and a silver purse to match her makeup and jewelry. Compared to her outfit yesterday, she looked like she did an entire makeover overnight.

"Bubbles, are you sure you want to wear that?"

She didn't seem to hear me as she twirled the dress around and marveled at how pretty (and expensive) it was."It's gorgeous! Why wouldn't I?"

"Yeah, it's really cute and all but," I lowered my voice to a whisper, "this isn't about what happened yesterday, right?" Bubbles looked confused, but when she spoke her voice sounded soft and fragile.

"Why would it be?" she quickly switched back to being elated and skipped to the kitchen. "Besides today's the pep rally and I really wanted to show out for the school, especially since I'm trying out for the dance team today!"

"Oh right! Did you make callbacks for cheerleading?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I'll get in…" At the sound of the door slam, we saw Buttercup trudge through the kitchen with sweats and the look of death written on her face.

But that didn't affect Bubbles's mood. "Mornin!"

"Mm" Buttercup didn't seem to notice as she chugged a cup of milk. She obviously didn't have a lot of sleep last night, but then again none of us did. I considered dropping my question about last night, but if I didn't bring up it up now it'll never happen.

"Buttercup, did you smell something weird last night?".

She looked at me cautiously to prepare for a lecture. "No… why would I?"

"No reason." I tried to fix my backpack to avoid her gaze, hoping she wouldn't be too suspicious; I was really trying to get along with her today as a promise to the Professor last night. "Make sure you bring your medical forms for those classes."

She suddenly flung the pile of papers off the table. "Screw the paperwork! Why can't you do it?"

I paused in shock at her unexpected outburst but quickly regained my position. "Because those are _your _forms Buttercup. I don't have to do your work!"

"Last time I checked I was _forced _to go!"

"That doesn't mean you can go around snapping at everyone!"

"I can yell at whoever I want!"

"Why don't you stop acting like you're four and GROW UP FOR ONCE!"

"Blossom," we turned to see Gladys at the front door with a serious face. "Calm down and leave Buttercup alone. Buttercup we'll be leaving in ten minutes." I froze in shock as Buttercup shot a look in my direction before grabbing her bag to meet Bubbles and the Professor in the car. I waited until the door closed before turning back to Gladys.

"Why were you mad at me? _She started it!_"

"And I just _ended_ it," she replied sitting on the couch with a stack full of papers. "Everything was closed once when you were reprimanded. Did you really think I'd confront Buttercup after all the times she's argued with me? I don't have time for another fight."

I raised my eyebrows in amazement. Gladys's only been with us for three days and she's already gotten used to how we act towards each other (our daily insanity). In fact, she's probably the only people I know that can keep Buttercup in check, and that deserves serious respect.

I stole a glance at Gladys as she was filing some reflections before looking back at the window. Despite how sudden everything was, she was always trying to make sure we were happy, giving us a sort of compassion that we haven't experienced in ten years. She was almost like an older sister to me.

"Blossom?"

"Hm?"

Gladys gave me a puzzled look. "Is everything okay sweetie?"

"Uh," _What was I thinking? _Gladys lied to us. Someone remembered. Not a crowd of people, but it was still _somebody_, and that would've meant the world to us if we could've known that sooner.

"- yeah. Just a little nervous for my second day." She gave me a warm smile in return before going into the Professor's room to look for some folders. I grabbed my bag to leave but I stopped at the door. Seeing her work so hard for us, I felt a bit guilty for lying to her before brushing my feelings off and ran to meet up with my sisters

She can't be trusted. And that's that.

* * *

"AND HERE THEY ARE! OUR LOVELY NEWCOMERS!" Mr. Harvey shouted

"I thought he introduced us yesterday," Bubbles whispered to Blossom.

"Don't waste your breath," she muttered.

Just then a knock (or rather a bang) on the door came from Buttercup, who took her time to get to class. Just as Blossom was getting ready to open it. Mr. Harvey suddenly looked alarmed.

"DON'T OPEN THAT!" as she stared at him, he responded back in a grave tone. "It could be a terrorist." With that he opened the door to find Buttercup glowering at him.

"And here's our ferocious renegade!" he exclaimed. As the girls took their seats, Mr. Harvey took his place at his desk to prepare for what he was about to say.

"Jokes aside let's have a serious moment here and talk about the fight yesterday." As expected from high school students, their attention peaked at the sound of the event, including the boys who witnessed the entire thing

"Now I usually don't interfere with my student's affairs, however I must show my dissent on such…"

Buttercup felt a growl escaping from her lips. _Don't start today, dude, you'll regret it._

"…and encourage a round of applause for this girl 'cause I hate that spoiled bitch too!"

Instantly hoots and jeers roared within the classroom in reaction to the teacher's statement, much to the shock of the girls, but especially towards their troubled sister who expected nothing more than another lecture.

"Mr. Harvey!"

He turned to see Bubbles turning a bright red with anger. "Oh right, no profanity!" But he went right back to Buttercup's line of sight showing signs of being impressed, and perhaps even going so far as to show admiration. "You have my complete respect, sister. If I was your age, I would've taken her out a long time ago."

"Wait, but why do _you_ hate her so much?" Blossom asked raising an eyebrow at her teacher's rant over the student.

Mr. Harvey curled two fingers around his chin in a mock thinking fashion."Maybe it's the hair color… No. _That girl's a spawn from the pits of Hell._ Usually I don't approve of heterosexual fights, but she's my one exception."

Boomer raised his hand. "Even if you got banned from the school?"

"Dude, even if I got banned from this city it still would've been worth it." Turning back to Buttercup for the last time, he barely concealed a smirk to conclude the conversation. "But the next time you wanna do something like that, aim for her throat so we can be spared from that jarring sound she calls her voice. Who knows? Might make it sound better!"

After the subtle sound of laughter receded from the room, Harvey sat back on his wheelchair for the next topic. "Now for your assignment I'll have separate pieces from the bleak, cynical, and terribly horrid broad we're forced to read in torment even though it encourages suicidal behavior…"

"Who's he talking about?" Blossom whispered to no one in particular.

"Emily Dickinson," a voice scoffed. Blossom turned to see the redhead from yesterday, but she never really got a close up to how he really looked. Wearing a red muscle tee, shorts, and his hair in a ponytail, the tan on his skin was clearly seen as it highlighted the sharp tone of his calves and biceps. She tried to examine him to get a bit more info. _An avid soccer player. Played every day if possible. Midfield or Defense?_

"… So in pairs you'll each have one poem, interpret it, blah, blah, blah, let's begin the torture."

"Partners?" Brick turned to the new girl expectantly. He already knew Butch would partner up with Boomer so he could get all the answers, and he had the feeling that her sisters had just done the same to her.

She smiled a set of glowing white teeth at the captain. "Sure! Brianne, but you already knew that."

"Brent Jones," he replied with a charming grin. _Definitely a Forward._

However that was all they said to each other before going right into analyzing the poem, like they had read each other's thoughts beforehand. But around every once or so often, Blossom would catch Brent stealing glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking, making her feel apprehensive, uncomfortable, and yet at the same time intrigued.

After catching him staring for the twelfth time, she closed her notebook and locked eyes with the athlete as she raised her eyebrow in amusement. "Is there something on my face?"

Blossom couldn't help but giggle at the faint blush that flashed on his ears at the blink of an eye before returning back to its normal tan. Would she have caught that without her super vision? Probably not.

Brick almost sputtered at how sharp she was. He couldn't have taken more than a second's glance at her without his head moving an inch from the paper. Brianne was the first to ever catch him in the act. Not like he did it a lot though.

_But she just looked way too damn familiar!_ The light copper red hair, porcelain face, _the tied red ribbon…_

But when he looks at her muddy brown eyes, it's as if all of his instincts were ignored. Like tying to complete a jigsaw puzzle with the wrong pieces.

With his gut feeling thawing at him raw, he couldn't take it anymore! It was either he got to the bottom of this, or admit to insanity. "Don't take this as being stalker-ish, but have I met you somewhere?"

Blossom's heart skipped a beat. She clearly underestimated him. The redheaded leader looked back at Buttercup and Bubbles, both unaware of how obvious they were the entire time they were here. She knew she should've chopped her hair into layers when she had the chance!

But for now the best thing she could do was divert his suspicions and plastered a blank stare to show mock confusion. "Nope! Never seen you in my life." She thanked God over remembering to place brown contacts. If she had came in with pink eyes, he would've put the pieces together before she could even introduce herself as Brianne.

Brick looked down, troubled with himself. His hunches were _never _wrong! It was like his senses were out of whack. But why would he feel so strongly about this girl when it's obvious she's never seen him before. _I mean who forgets a guy with hair __longer__ than half the girls in his grade? _he scoffed to himself. With that logic, he would just have to move on from this, remembering that sometimes even mutants make mistakes.

"Let's go on with this poem! It seems pretty interesting…" Brianne said with another bright smile, except this time it seemed strained, almost tense and fearful instead of the cheerful grin she showed earlier.

Brick brushed it off. _I'm just being a little paranoid._

* * *

-Boomer-

After Harvey's, it not like my day gets any easier. Not with Ms. Hertu.

She looked like Betty White except she was a lot skinnier and a helluva lot crazier. I only took the class for an easy A, and now I have to deal with her yelling about the _Joys of Drama._

_Why can't I just leave?_

Oh right! Because Brick's being a jerk and has Cole watching me like I'll disappear off the face of the earth! I don't see what's so bad about missing ONE class, especially one this boring. Looking around the class I noticed the kids who made the same mistake as me in choosing this class, which wasn't really a lot. In fact, I could count the number of my classmates on my fingers.

But I stopped the minute she was in my line of sight. Man, she was _pretty_.

I like blondes. I really do. Except every one of them seem to have a problem at this school. Their nose is too big. Their eyes were too small. Too thick. Too thin. And a lot of times _waaay_ too dumb. But she looked _perfect_. It was like I was staring at the sight of an angel-

"Brandon!" I looked up to Ms. Hertu glaring at me. _Lady, it is not my fault your class is boring!_

"It seems you're more interested in my new prodigy rather than the lesson?" she mused.

My face flushed in embarrassment as I stammered for an excuse over everyone laughing at me. Great. How was I even going to introduce myself after that? I'd be lucky if I even got her name!

Ms. Hertu looked satisfied and went back to praising Shakespeare. I tried to steal one more glance at her and fast as i could without anyone seeing me. What she's thinking about?

'_Man, what a dork…' _Yeah. She'd probably say that. Man, if I was like Brick or Butch, I wouldn't even be in this situation. They always get all the girls but I get… _friendzoned._ I mean it's not like I can't get a girlfriend or anything, but they're usually good friends that I can never see myself going serious with, so they all end in flings. Then again I should count my blessings; it is better than Butch's 'Hit-and-Runs,' I mean at least I can keep a girl for longer than a day. Besides, I don't really need a serious girlfriend right now.

But looking at her taking notes from the she-devil made me wanna talk to her, or at least introduce myself to her. Fat chance of that happening anytime soon. _She probably thinks you're a stalker anyway._

Can't help it now. Might as well figure out a way to leave so that I can save face. The last thing I need is for her to see how humiliated I look.

* * *

-Bubbles-

"Where are we going?" I asked aloud

"I don't know. Becky told us to meet her in the courtyard." Blossom replied. I was hoping to myself it wasn't anywhere too crowded. Every time I walked in the hallways people kept staring at me like I was a freak show, all just because of what happened from before. I just hope this whole thing passes soon.

The courtyard where students enter the school is wide and spaced out with grassy fields by the buildings and surrounding the entire auditorium, so obviously it's filled with students setting blankets and tables out in the sun, but most of the kids sat by the fountain right in the middle of the courtyard. At around the back of the Auditorium we saw Becky lying in the shade under a tree singing softly to herself with the soft rhythm of her guitar.

"_**Come on Skinny Love just last the year…**_

_**Pour a little salt we were never here…**_

_**My my my… my my my, my, my…**_

_**Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer…"**_

The notes sounded so beautiful, I came running over to see her. "Wow Becky!" When she looked up to see us, I only smiled brighter. "I didn't know you could sing like that!"

But instead of thanking me, she quickly shoved her guitar into her case as she rambled a bunch of excuses in embarrassment. "I'm so sorry about that! It's something I do to myself and no one was around so I didn't see why not and-"

"Why are you apologizing? It's great!" I gawked at her in shock. How could she be so embarrassed over singing?

"Yeah we don't mind." Blossom said as she sat on the shaded hill next to Becky before I joined them following Buttercup. Becky looked up at us doubtfully. "It's just Bon Iver, but you guys don't mind?" I shook my head furiously. "Of course not! Continue please!" She giggled at how upset I was and took out her guitar to sing again.

"_**I tell my love to wreck it all…**__**  
**__**Cut out all the ropes and let me fall…**__**  
**__**My my my… my my my, my, my…**__**  
**__**Right in the moment this order's tall…"**_

As Becky was singing, we ate our lunch quietly under the shady tree. After being humiliated yesterday, everything felt so perfect here. No one staring at you, no one judging, and best of all no Princess. With the large cypress tree hovering over us and the hill bringing a slight breeze, this place was so much better than sitting in that overcrowded cafeteria, and I hoped I never had to set foot in there again.

But then Becky stopped the song and put her guitar away. "Hey Bree, what time is it?"

"11:55, why?"

"Holy crap we're late!" She suddenly grabbed her bags and ran off the hill. So naturally, me and my sisters ran after her wondering what happened to the happy feelings everyone had five seconds ago.

"L-late for what?! Becky!" I called out.

"We have to be in the cafeteria! Just follow me!" Perfect. And I was just starting to forget about what happened. When we ran inside the place was already filled with people. Trying to ignore the glances in our direction, I looked at my sisters for an answer on where we were even going to sit, but Becky was already pushing us towards this one table near the middle of the cafeteria on the first floor that was half-filled already.

When we finally got seated, I leaned in and whispered angrily at Becky. "I thought you said you didn't like being in the cafeteria!" I meant to sound a bit nicer, but I was a little mad about getting dragged back to the place where Princess ruined my first day.

"I don't. But that's not the reason I wanted you guys to come." She grinned mischievously.

"Then would you mind filling us in on what exactly you're planning." Buttercup grumbled

Just then I looked up to see student photographers setting up their video cameras on the second and third floor aiming for our area as music started to blow from the speakers by our wall banner. Suddenly dancers filled the middle of the cafeteria and pushed the tables aside to start their choreography.

_**I wanna dance without you…!**_

_** (Dance without you…!)**_

_**For once just let me lose myself…!**_

_** (Lose myself…!)**_

It was incredible! There was at least twenty people covering the center as they glided and moved across the floor like they were made up of water.

"The dance team planned their annual flash mob today. Figured it be the perfect way to introduce the new students to our extracurriculars. Plus I thought it'd be nice to see after what happened before." I turned to Becky and finally realized that she wanted to make our memories in the cafeteria good ones.

"How'd you know this was happening if it was a flash mob?"

"In order for them to do this, they need to let the principal, one assistant principal, and at least a third of the Journalism club know to film it, and I just so happened to be included from Journalism club because I was escorting the newbies," she explained. Blossom made sure to keep note of that to join Journalism later.

_**I wanna dance without you…!**_

_** (Dance without you…!)**_

Then a tan skinned girl entered the center doing a duet with a guy.

"I think that's the girl from my art class." Blossom said pointing to the tan girl.

"She's amazing…!" I whispered. Having light brown hair a couple shades darker than her skin, she moved like the music was flowing through her. Thinking back to my pasty white skin and flimsy ballet moves, I adored and hated her all at once.

_**For once just let me lose myself **_

"The one up front? That's the co-captain, Isabella Martinez. With her boyfriend, they're pretty popular around the school."

_**For once! Let me lose myself––**_

When the music ended the entire cafeteria cheered for the dance team as the co-captain stood in the middle of the cafeteria with a microphone.

"GOOD MORNING WEST COAST HIGH! Did you like our performance?"

The crowd yelled even louder as an answer. As our table clapped for the team, I looked down at my tray feeling ashamed. I couldn't even stand in front of my class and here she was in front of half of the _school_.

"Now we do this sort of thing EVERY YEAR as a chance to show our school what the dance team has in store for you guys! We all make up a part of the team in whatever way possible and always put it as our first priority, and for that reason we've been state champion for FOUR YEARS!"

The students shouted even louder at this as a light brown skinned dancer walked to Isabella's side.

"So if you want to get involved and be able to participate in all _this_, you can talk to either me or my teammate Joanne Micheals for more information on our next tryout position! THANK YOU AND WE'LL SEE YOU AT THE PEP RALLY!"

* * *

When Bella finished her speech, the crowd was roaring in applause. However she paid it no mind as she turned to her co-captain and best friend Joanne.

"How was it? Think we're getting any new recruits?"

Joanne rolled her eyes. "Bell, we have 5 months before anything happens. You can't tell now if whether or not we'll have a full room of people to join."

"We weren't able to get to everyone though." She said glumly thinking about all the people in the courtyard. There's only so much they could do in an hour.

"Who cares!? They'll see it on the announcements or something. Besides who sits in the courtyard when it's hot as hell!" Bella snickered at this. People find Joanne bossy, picky, and at times very mean, but these were the very things Bella like the most about her.

Before they could say anything else, Bella saw Brent walking towards her with his two brothers, but the first thing she noticed was the shadow across his face. She sighed, wondering which one of the boys pissed him off this time.

"Hey babe!" she exclaimed sweetly. "Did 'ya see our routine?"

But he said nothing as the shadow darkened on his face before saying the dreaded words.

"We need to talk."

* * *

-Brick-

After the Pledge and the National Anthem, Butch and I were in the front bleachers to be closer to the court when they call out our teams. I decided to make use of the time to try and encourage him to do a bit more in school.

"So, why haven't you thought of taking another language?"

"Why should I? I'm barely passing English as it is!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that your just too lazy to get shit done?"

"No. I'm well aware of that, which is _why _I'm not taking the class!"

"_OYE, 'MANO!"_

"_CLAQUE, ACHO!"_

We turned to the voices and saw probably the two Hispanic brothers calling out to us. Identifying more with their Hispanic side than their African American heritage, Donald and Tyrone Johnson speak twice the amount of Spanish than they do English even though they were born here, meaning you probably got a 1 to 3 chance of understanding them. Their personalities tend to mirror each other, and for that people often assume the two are alike, when actually it's the exact opposite.

Ty had small dreads going down to his mid neck in a ponytail and had some facial hair growing on his chin with a slight stubble. He was older by one year, and is the responsible one out of the two with a pretty good morale, which is ironic because he's the one who got held back a year, making them in our same grade. He says it was "_una cita divina por Dios_" or "a divine appointment by God" to make sure he kept his little brother in check on all his classes.

Donnie had small cornrows stopping an inch or two from his scalp and was a little chubbier than Ty. Unlike his brother, he was the crazier one and seemed to be like Butch's protégé, so whenever Butch gets into some serious trouble for something, I can almost guarantee Donnie would be right next to him hoping his brother might bail him out (sometimes I have the misfortune of finding all three of them in the Main Office). At times I wonder if those two were just separated at birth because of how alike they were both physically and mentally.

The two came running over at the sight of their friend before interrupting our conversation, but I figured it getting nowhere as it is.

Ty popped in between us as a smirk spread across his face. "So you wan' im to learn Spanish? Drop this guy down in 'Rico and he'll be fluent in three days, _l__o juro por Dios__!_"

Donnie came right behind him. "Either that or he's dead! Puerto Ricans don' play with their _gringos!"_

"Haha. Real funny." Boomer suddenly emerged from the crowd behind us with a grim look on his face when he saw the two sitting by us, or more specifically Donnie. As expected Boomer and Donnie never get along, often leading to verbal arguments ad insults, but never a fist fight; or at least not yet.

"Hush _flaco_! You don even know what we just said!"

"Y-Yeah I do!" Boomer stammered. Sigh. he was better off staying quiet.

"What does it mean then?"

"It means… it's… it's an insult and-"

Donnie busted out laughing at his ignorance and Ty just shook his head at my younger brother. "_Cayate flaco,_ you might save what's LEFT of your dignity," he muttered.

Boomer's expression darkened in frustration before stomping back up the stairs. I'd never admit it, but I feel sorry for him sometimes. First Butch makes fun of him, and now he has two more people to back him up.

…But that's not my problem! "He'll get over it." I said with a shrug.

"Hell, he HAS to get over it. I ain't saying sorry!" Donnie scoffed, but then again he never does to anyone except Ty, Butch, and myself (sometimes).

I looked up to see Bella training with one of her male partners as I gritted my teeth.

"The hells her problem!?" I snarled

"Who-? _Oooh. Tu Chiquita,_" Donnie mused.

"What happened?"

"She's dancing with all these guys like I'm not even here!" I yelled. "How am I supposed to sit here and watch her grind on some pricks like she doesn't even notice me?!

Butch started to pout. "You poor son of a bitch… you have to watch your girlfriend dance with guys from the dance team… that are GAY. Need a tissue?"

"It's not funny!"

"It is! You're sittin here actin like she's doing a strip tease for guys who'd rather be dancing with the guy next to them; besides with you sitting up front, I doubt they're gonna try to do shit."

As the music started, I crossed my arms with my cap over my eyes, refusing to watch any of that crap.

"Relax Brent, it's just one dance! Then you can go back to eating each other's faces in the hallways" "Oh c'mon, you can't pretend like you've never done that."

"I'm not you."

"That's because I'm one of a kind, bitch! Hey- Where're you goin!?"

* * *

The girls were sitting at the back of the bleachers just after the National Anthem finished. As she sat back down, Bubbles quickly turned to Becky to see if she could know more about the black haired wonder.

"You know Becky, you've been asking us about what we're like and all, but you never talk about yourself."

"That's true," Blossom agreed turning to her curiously ."Tell us something about yourself. Your music was great, are you a musician?"

The journalist raised her eyebrows in amusement. "Well, that's odd."

"What, that we didn't ask sooner?"

"No, that you even bothered to ask." The girls of course were taken aback over how bluntly she spoke, Upon seeing this, Becky tried to clarify. "It's like being a tour guide. Usually the new students I pick up are so eager to tell me about themselves and all the stuff they did at their last school that there isn't really any time to properly introduce myself. It's not like they care anyway."

"So, they were all cocky bastards." Buttercup scowled.

She chuckled softly at the comment. "No, actually they weren't." She began to lower her head as she avoided the girls' gaze, as if she were saying the next phrase to herself. "It's just that when you find yourself alone in this world, the first thing you try to do is create an identity from the pieces of the life you left behind."

"Take it from someone who's been there," she mumbled, confirming the idea that maybe they weren't the only ones with problems in the school. "By the way, I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday. I know you did it mostly for your sister, but no one's ever really stuck up to her like that, and I think she's gonna leave me alone for quite a while after that."

Buttercup locked eyes with the writer for the first time, feeling a mix between wonder and pity. "Sure thing." She mumbled before thinking back to Harvey with a smirk. "S'not like she didn't have it coming."

"You'd think she'd learn the second time around that there are some people you can't mess with," Becky sighed.

"Second time? Thought you said no one's challenged her?"

"Actually there was one person, but I think I forgot yesterday. Apparently, she got her so scared Princess carried bodyguards with her for an entire week thinking she was gonna get shot at!"

The girls snickered at the thought of Princess going paranoid over being protected in the hallways. Needless to say, that would've been a sight to see.

"So what about yourself?" Blossom asked

Becky shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "Not much about me really. I traveled around a lot when I was a kid for my dad's job before settling down in Tampa, Florida for a few years. But by then I was so used to moving that I never really kept a close relationship with anyone. It wasn't until 3 years ago that my parents moved into Townsville, thinking such a big place might get me some more friends. But that hasn't happened yet."

"Any siblings?"

"One brother. But he's never really kept in contact with anyone from my family."

A silence between the four was filled by the loud clamor of those in the gym. Becky gave the three an apologetic smile. "Sorry I made this so depressing on you guys with my sap story. You were better off just talking about yourselves!"

"Don't say that!" Bubbles yelled, much to the shock of those around her. But Blossom soon joined her.

"Brooke's right. It's important that people know who you are! And for the record, I really appreciate you sharing that with us."

"Me too," Bubbles added with a shy smile

Before Buttercup could utter a reply, a lanky kid with dirty blonde hair came running over to the four waving a digital camera. "Hey Becks! Check out these shots I got of the school!"

"Hey Brandon!" Before she could stand up to hug him, he dropped the camera into her lap urging her to look through the pictures. For a few seconds, Becky's eyes started to widen as she passed through each photo. "Oh my God these are amazing! How'd you get these photos?!"

"I have my ways," he grinned proudly.

"Yeah I'm sure you do," she replied rolling her eyes. A few months back, she used to always press him on how he got these types of shots, but it didn't take long for her to realize that Brandon wasn't going to tell her his secret anytime soon. But so long as he kept giving her pictures like this, she could care less.

"Uh- HELLO? You just rudely interrupted a conversation here!" Buttercup snapped.

Brandon's face began to pale in fear. "Oh… S-sorry 'bout that." He turned to Becky looking dejected again. "Um you can give me the camera later then…"

"BREE HUSH!" Bubbles screeched before returning to her bright smile. "I'm sorry about my sister! She's gets a little cranky when she doesn't get enough sleep!" before Buttercup could protest, Bubbles quickly stomped on her foot and stuck her arm out to the individual. "I'm Brooke!"

Remembering the girl from before, Boomer met her hand in return and tried to act as calm as he could. "H-h-hey! My name's Brandon."

"So you're in Journalism?"

Becky snorted. "Not really. He never officially signed up, but he always gives me photos to put into the yearbook and has at least a quarter of his pictures covering the school hallways. He probably one of the best photographers here!"

"_Wow,_" her blue eyes started to grow wide with awe. "So you're pretty artistic, huh?"

Boomer started to feel himself grow sweaty around Brooke. The longer he stood there, the more he could feel himself turning red and refused to embarrass himself for the second time around her. "W-well uh, i…it's nothing just…"

"Well if you don't have a lot to do later could you show me some of your pictures sometime?" Bubbles mumbled with the faint glint of hope in her sky blue eyes.

"Actually," Brandon looked up and grinned at the blonde. "Yeah - Yeah, I would really like that."

"Me too!" She beamed. After a momentary silence between the two, the lights started to fade as Brandon turned back to the girls. "Well the pep rally's about to start. I guess I'll see you later?

"How's about tomorrow-?

"-at four-"

"-in the park...?"

"R-right!"_It's like she was reading my mind. _"Well uh, see ya!"

Bubbles waved elatedly back at the photographer as he went back to meet with his brothers. Buttercup and Blossom looked at their sister with suspicion. The glow in skin the eager grin, and that small sheen of hope showing in her eyes were all signs of something way too familiar.

But Becky only giggled at Bubbles without ever taking her eyes off of the camera. "Wow. It hasn't even been a week and you're already crushing on one of the Jones Brothers."

"What's so special about them?" Blossom asked curiously.

"At the risk of making it sound like a cliché high school flick, the Jones Brothers are kind of like celebrities here. Harvey calls them the Jonas Brothers when they're together in the hallways. But ironically the only people who don't notice it is them. Well that excludes Blayke."

"Give us some details."

"I might as well tell you about all of them." She motioned towards the redhead at the front of the group of soccer players on the court. "Brent's the oldest and captain of the boys soccer team even though he's only a sophomore. Girls seemed to get crushes on him the most because he was like the three in one for them. Smart, athletic, and really cute, but that changed once he started going out with Bella the dance captain and made typical high school sweethearts. It actually came out as a surprise because before going serious with her, Brent had girls crawling for him."

"I lost all respect for our gender." Buttercup muttered.

She then pointed at the dark haired jock, who was sitting by the football players. "Blayke is the second oldest and is on the football team, travel MMA team, and the rugby team making him one of the most athletic. But he's also one of the big players in the school, even though people tend to consider him more of a manwhore than a real player. He can be really arrogant, to the point of where he's a complete jerk. But he's also the really aggressive one, so girls –and even some guys– try to keep their distance unless they're on a friendly status with him, or in the girls' case, a sexual status.

Then they turned to the skinny boy sitting on the bleachers alone as he watched his brothers on the court. "Then there's Brandon. For a Jones brother, he's not really that popular. Had a couple girlfriends here and there, but nothing serious. The only sport he played was baseball last year, but he was more into the arts if anything. So he dropped this year and went into photography. Rumor has it he's an incredible dancer, but he usually keeps that to himself, probably because he brothers make fun of him for that more than they probably do for photography."

She turned back to the three looking satisfied with the information she's presented. "And those are the Jones Brothers. Anyone else you'd like me to tell you about?"

"Wow Becky, you sure know you way around!" Bubbles exclaimed.

"I'm a journalist, I need to know who I'm writing to. Or in some cases who I'm writing _about._ Take your pick, I know pretty much everyone in this gym."

In a moment Buttercup saw Mitch sitting by the gym doors ready to leave once the security guard wasn't looking. He may hate her and goes out with a girl who wants her in the morgue, but he was still the same Mitch she met in Kindergarten.

"What about that guy over there by the exit doors?"

She turned silent for a minute before meeting Buttercup's gaze with a sad smile. "Every school has their future dropout."

Just then hip hop music blared from the speakers. "OhmiGod! It's starting!" Bubbles quickly shushed everyone's conversation and leaned forward to get a perfect view. If it was anything like during the lunch period, she'd want to see every part of it.

The dancers came out in white cargos and royal blue cropped tops designed with silver and black to represent the school colors as they started out the routine, but it was nothing like the one prior to the pep rally and made Blossom wrinkle her nose in disgust. _THIS is what Bubbles wants to be a part of?_

"Hey Brooke?" Bubbles looked at Blossom impatiently, unwilling to miss a second of the performance. "Are you sure you can join the dance team? They kinda look like…"

"Sluts, hoes, whores, strippers-"

"Thank you Bree, that was exactly what I thought of." Seeing her shocked face, Blossom tried to reason with her, dreading the idea of _her _actually performing something like this. "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Don't worry about it guys. I can do this!" Bubbles looked back at the dancers. It's not like she was clueless to that, and she could feel herself shivering at the thought of ever doing something like this. But after yesterday, people started looking at her differently. They all felt sorry for her, but now it seemed like her whole personality was decided at that moment.

People think she's weak, defenseless, pitiful… like a baby thrown into a jungle and had to be protected. And maybe some of that was true, but she didn't want her high school life to be like that! She wanted to be tough, she wanted to have confidence, she wanted to be able to throw away her old identity and make it into something she's always dreamed about.

She looked back at Bella, who looked so like she could own the school if she wanted to. She wanted to be just like her, and decided the best time to join would have to be now, otherwise she'd never be break out of stereotype, and her dreams about enjoying high school would end before it had even started.

* * *

3:30 – Dance room

Joanne Micheals sat facing the dance team as she led the warm up. "ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! LET'S STRETCH OUT THOSE LEGS! I DON'T WANNA HEAR YOU COMPLAININ' TOMORROW ON HOW MUCH YOUR LEGS, HURT CUZ I WON'T HEAR THAT!" Sitting behind a one sided mirror, the team started to groan in response. Most of them tended to think of her more as a drill sergeant than a captain.

To everyone's relief, Bella entered the room meaning the end to their torment. She crouched down to Joanne, who was doing the Butterfly pose at the moment. "Any news on Brandon?" she whispered.

Joanne snorted in response. "Bitch please; he ain't coming."

The light haired dancer groaned. Brandon's so sweet, but sometimes she wished he had a backbone and did what made him happy rather than the crowd, including his brothers. Sighing defeat she turned to the team. "Okay guys. For the next few months we just gotta hope and pray we can pull through for the show even though we have a few holes in the team." _Holes that I made… _she thought dejectedly.

When the door opened the group turned to see their principal enter the room with his face looking unusually serious. "Oh! Good Afternoon Dr. Lee!" Bella greeted brightly. "Sup." Joanne mumbled rising up to meet her teammate.

"Who're the team captains here?" After Joanne and Bella raised their hands, he motioned towards the soundproof closet on the right side of the room. "May I please speak to you for a bit?"

_About thirty seconds later…_

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE CUTTING US!?"

"I said that I might _resort_ to it, and it's with good reason."

"But-but…" Bella stammered, still in shock with the sudden news. "we've worked so hard! We've won championships for this school! We bring back trophies! Not those little plaques but _giant, six foot tall, GOLD TROPHIES! _You can't just drop the dance team, it's not fair!"

"At least get rid of the cheerleaders! They can't do shit!" Joanne retorted.

"Jojo!" Bella snapped, reminding her of who's in here with them.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Dr. Lee's features darkened in frustration with the two. "Those cheerleaders you just talked about never implied such sexual connotations like you just did at our school pep rally." The girls turned silent for a moment, Dr. Lee used this moment to continue on with his point. "When you go out there who do you think you're representing? What do you think our new students think about the dance team after seeing that performance? There are certain things you just can't do inside of a school uniform! It's not just about the dance team, it's about the entire school! And it's not the first time this has happened before!"

It wasn't, both of them certainly knew that. Once they got the point, Dr. Lee sat on the chair in the corner running his finger through his hair. He hates yelling at the students. "I'm not here to punish you girls. You've worked really hard, these awards covering this room prove that. But you can't keep doing this! And today's where I have to draw the line." As he made his exit, he stopped at the door for one final word.

"April 15 is the Townsville Youth Extravaganza, so you have just about three months to prove to me that you can be taken seriously as a dance team. If not, the dance team will be gone as of next year."

When he closed the door, Joanne finally snapped. "HE CAN'T DO THIS!"

"Yes he can. And he's right." Bella didn't face her friend as she tried to make sense of the situation, her face paling and the news sank in.

"Okay Bells," the co-captain retorted. "so how in the HELL are we supposed to come up with 2 hours full of new dances in THREE MONTHS! _What the hell are we gonna do in three months!?_"

Bella massaged her temples as a headache ensued. "I don't know Jojo! But what I DO know is that what we say in here stays between us. It's bad enough that we're panicking, the last thing we need is to have everybody panicking." Brent wouldn't panic. What would she do to see him here, but chances are Brent's probably losing his top over how she performed and giving him space is the best thing she could do right now.

"_How can you expect to keep this a secret from the entire team!?_" Joanne screeched.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Bella yelled before composing herself. "But I am, okay? Or at least until I figure out a way to ease them into it." She walked towards the door, realizing the team's probably worrying about them being there for so long. "For now we're just going to go outside and pretend that it was just a little reminder or something."

Jojo scoffed to herself. "Since when did I start taking orders from a sophomore?"

"You're just mad that people follow orders from me more because I'm friendly." The co captain huffed in response.

"Pfft! Friendly my ass…" she muttered as they entered the main dance room to everyone staring at them expectantly.

"What was goin on in there?" Kim asked.

Bella put up a little scowl of annoyance. "Dr. Lee just wanted to talk to us about our uniforms to make sure they're 'appropriate'."

"Then why'd it take you guys so long to get out?" the petite Asian narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"_So that we can REVISE the uniforms,_" Joanne said sternly, effectively ending the conversation.

"Guys seriously, it's nothing just a few tweaks here and there and we'll have new uniforms. The show's still gonna be okay." Bella hated lying to the team so much, but it was for their own good.

A knock on the door came for another visitor. _Odd,_ Bella thought. _The door's already opened since Dr. Lee unlocked it._ "Hold on. Lemme get that." She expected a student with a message, or even Brent coming to yell at her, but saw someone she would later regret opening the door to.

* * *

-Bubbles-

Took me a while, but I finally found the room thanks to a couple nice students in the gym. After entering the hallway going around the gym on the second floor, it was either I turn left or right. Turning left like they told me, I found a large rectangular room connecting to the wall on my left across from the lockers. But the room had two doors. I sat there for a minute to try and decide which one to open.

_Well I'm right handed, so maybe I'll get lucky with this one. _Knocking on the door to the right, I could feel my heart beating right out of my chest and crossed my finger that things would go well.

When the door opened I saw the team captain from earlier who looked at me curiously. Even though she was a student like me, it felt like I was two feet from a celebrity. My legs felt all wobbly and it felt like I was gonna fall on myself if I didn't blurt out what I needed to say.

"U-um… are you-"

"-Isabella Martinez, yes?" She raised her eyebrows as she waited for an explanation.

"Well um, I came to see if I can try out and-"

"Tryouts are at the end of June, so come by then. Goodbye." Before I could finish she was already turning to close the door to go back to practicing with the team.

"Wait!" I looked down to see my leg stop the door from closing before raising my head to see the dancer glowering at me in impatience. I knew I was pushing my luck to even go to summer tryouts, but it's be too late then to change anyone's mind about me being a big baby.

But it was more than that. Whenever I danced I felt something special, like whenever Blossom paints or when Buttercup plays a sport. It's something I feel on the inside of me that makes me feel… _special._ Like I matter for something instead of being afraid all the time. I remember when I was a little I used to stand outside of the Western Pines dance studio for hours just to watch them (they'd never let me go closer than five feet of the place though). It even got to the point where the instructor bought blinds so that she could ignore me standing there, my eyes glued on the ballet dancers, hoping that one day I could be in their spot.

And I finally get that chance today.

Even the school's dance studio looked amazing with a wide window coming off one side of the wall across from the one sided mirror on the other side of the room. What would I do to be in there!

It's now or never. I sucked in a deep breath and realized I wasn't leaving here until I got what I was looking for.

"I'm sorry it's just… I really_, really_ want to join this group. It's the only group I've ever wanted to be in, and I promise after this I'll leave you alone!"

"_Is she done talking yet?_" someone groaned I tilted my head to the side to see the other captain looking in our direction with an annoyed expression.

But the captain in front of me stared at her toes, as if making a decision on if whether or not she wanted to let me inside.

_Please say yes…_ "All I need is a chance."

After a while her shoulders sank in defeat and she stepped aside to let me in. "C'mon. I'll show you where to start." I was led into a room full of people staring at me, sending chills down my spine. I instantly looked down at the floor, if I saw these people any longer, I'd lose my nerve and end up right back where I started. Bella stepped in front of the group who never took their eyes off me, making me feel incredible out of place.

"Kay. So this is…"

"Brooklyn! Brooklyn Underhill."After seeing her dubious stare I figure I was probably a little too excited. "_Riiight_, and she'll be trying out today."

"Thought you said end of June!" someone called out

"We needed to fill in Sarah's spot anyway!" she snapped impatiently before turning back to me. "We'll start you off with a choreography you need to know by Monday, so I suggest you practice during the weekend. CJ, hit me up real quick… number one… No - on CD 4. We're good? Jojo, Jess, up front. Ready?"

The three began the dance with a series of pops to the rhythm before stepping out and dancing to the hip hop beat. Their moves looked so hard, first you're supposed to swing and flow with your whole body, mostly the curves; nothing like the graceful swings the girls did in Western Pines with their arms. Then it gets sharp and complex when the chorus picks up, almost making it look like they were robots.

_Are you sure you can join the dance team? _Now I wasn't so sure anymore.

When the song ended, hoots and jeers came from the dancers but the blue eyed captain kept her eyes on me. "Got all that-Good. Pretty basic, right? So that's what you'll need for next week. Now you show us some of your moves." She stopped when she noticed how unsure I was. "You knew you needed to make your own dance, right?"

"Y-yeah!" But I didn't think it'd have to look like _that_. "Do you want the CD?"

"CJ's got it covered, just tell him the song and we'll probably have it. It's only gonna be thirty seconds, so don't choke."

"No pressure," someone snickered, probably the dark skinned captain in the background.

As I took off my jacket I could hear the whispers coming from the team.

"_The fuck's she wearing?"_

"_Is that a TUTU?"_

"_Jesus…"_

"_She looks like she supposed to be in a dollhouse!"_

"_It's Barbie life-sized version._

"_This outta be good…"_

I turned my back to them, but they just got even louder, like they wanted me to hear them. How can they be so mean when they haven't even met me yet?

_Stay focused… Remember what Blossom told you… _I straightened up and waited for the music. Who knows? They might even love it.

**_"My love…leave yourself behind…_**

**_Beat inside me… leave you blind…"_**

When the lyrics started I made slow graceful movements just like the ones I would behind the mirror of the dance studio. Arching my arms and back smoothly, I raised my leg swiftly to form a semi circle above my head and was about to go into the _pirouette _–

The music clicked off and was replaced by room full of people laughing at me.

"Sorry pigtails. This ain't Julliard…" the guy by the DJ set said while he was looking at me like I was five and started snickering along with the others. With my face to the mirror, I didn't even know how I was going to turn around at the group, knowing that I'm officially the laughingstock of the entire school. Nothing's changed.

How could they be so cruel? Everyone's still laughing at me, even when I tried my best! I felt the tears stinging my eyes but I couldn't cry. Not after yesterday. But I couldn't move an inch without bursting into tears. What would Blossom do? I wish she were here.

_Just walk with you head high, politely tell them "Thank You for considering me" , and walk out with a straight face… _Yeah, she would say that. Closing my eyes I prepared myself to face the crowd.

"1…2…3." But when I turned I fell over my sweater and landed on my face, setting myself up for more teasing as the team roared laughing. I couldn't stop the tears from slipping down my face and decided to get out as fast as I can. Grabbing my stuff I walked/ran for the door out.

"T-thank you for your time-"

"You're in."

"…What?"I stood still just as I was about to turn the doorknob.

Bella was leaning on the window frame with a scowl on her face." Did I stutter? I said _you're in_."

The laughing stopped instantly as everyone turned to her. The co captain –I think her name's Joanna– stepped up front and motioned towards the closet. "Bell. Inside." When they shut the door I could hear a thing at first, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to use my super hearing a bit. It wasn't like I was going to try and make friends with these people anyway.

I strained my ears to get exactly what they were saying

"…_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!"_

"_Saving our asses! You know damn well this team can't do anything but the dance moves we did at that pep rally. Besides you and me and Kim, these guys are street dancers. They can't do anything else but street dancing, so don't expect them in tights anytime soon! Everyone who might've had a shred of experience LEFT Joanne. So when I saw someone with a different style, who might help us keep the team, and is handed to us on a silver platter, I said 'Why the fuck not!'"_

The yelling went on after that, but I had everything I needed to know. They needed me for something, meaning that I was going to be on the team, but I never thought it'd feel so bad. It's almost as if I stole the spot from someone else.

The girls came back to face the team and prepare for what they had to say. "We came up with a decision." Bella sucked in a deep breath. "We need to fill Violet's spot and-"

The team yelled all at once over what she just said in anger. Out of the corner of my eye I saw some of them making gestures at me like I was a big joke. While Bella tried shouting over them, Joanna was silent as she glowered at me, and I wondered if it was better if I just left right now.

"Listen! We could use a different approach to dance. Who knows?" She looked down and the floor and started to mumble the next words. "She might teach use a few things…"

"Hell No." Joanna growled with the icy glare never leaving me. The dancers yelled even louder making furious gestures at me, like they didn't care I was right there and listened to every word.

* * *

"_I'm not dressing up in that goddamn leotard!"_

"_What the hell's a leotard?"_

"_Who Cares!? I'm not wearing any of that shit!"_

"_Why'd you pick her anyway?"_

"_Does she even know how to dance?" _

"_She ain't even supposed to try out til June!" _

"_Does that mean my sister Nelly can try out tomorrow?"_

"_She can't be in the show!"_

"_Of course she can't be in the damn show! What's she gonna do?"_

"_The closest Barbie's getting to that stage is if she passes out flyers."_

"_Does she even know Tupac?"_

Bella looked helplessly at the team. There's no helping it. If that girl stayed any longer soon they were going to target her next, making sure she left here soaked in tears and never came back.

She turned to the shivering girl with a stern face. "Leave. You have to leave now. Things are gonna get ugly here real quick, so I'll text you more info."

"B-But you don't know my n-number-"

"JUST LEAVE!" she bellowed, losing every shred of patience she had that day.

The blond girl quickly took her stuff and left for the door. The Colombian dancer wouldn't be surprised if she didn't come back after how she just yelled at her. But if she didn't she might even be doing her a favor; the dance team certainly wasn't for anyone soft.

But she had bigger problems. Out of her two years here, she never saw the dance team so angry, and all for the same cause. They looked like an angry mob ready to castrate the girl. She turned to Joanne for help, but she was nowhere to be found, it was almost like the empty space spoke for her

y_ou deal with this shit_

And she'd have to. With nothing else to say, and no one else to turn to, she'd just have to tell them the truth. Before she started, Bella closed her eyes and shook her head at how quickly things deteriorated in her team. Just 20 minutes ago they were like one big happy family, and now this.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Okay so more OC's were introduced this chapter, and I need to set the record straight. I do not want to go into stereotyping any races unless if it's my own race that I fully understand the stereotype of. The reason for Donny and Ty was because I wanted to have a multicultural background for everything and trust me, they won't be the only OC's with an ethnic background. But if throughout my story I may sound a little stereotypical towards one race or if you felt a little sensitive, just send me a polite PM and I'll certainly alter or erase the offensive phrase used the minute I have time.

Some Hispanic slang terms I used:

'Mano: short for _hermano_ meaning brother. So in short, they're just saying 'bro'

Flaco: Skinny. It's just a nickname that can be of popular use in Hispanic speaking countries .

lo juro por Dios: 'I swear to God'

Cayate: Shut up

Gringos: non hispanics.

Claque, acho: 'What's up, man?'

Songs:

_- Bon Iver: "Skinny Love"_

_- Sia: "My Love"_

_- Skylar Grey: "Dance Without You"_

So with that taken care of, How was this one? I need feedback, otherwise something you may not like about my story won't get taken care of! And I know I didn't include the upcoming fight between Butch and Buttercup, but I just didn't feel like doing a long chapter again, especially with how aggravated I was last time. So next chapter will be more on them and will include the flashback for more detail. Until then follow, favorite, and REVIEW! :D


	8. Nailing the Coffin

Alright here's Chapter 8! I really want to do my best on this one because last chapter's response was kinda weak, but I kinda expected it though because like I said last chapter, it was pretty casual. But I'm glad a few of you guys liked it, and here's to hoping you'll like Chapter 8 even more!

* * *

_Two weeks earlier…_

**-EUREKA, KANSAS**

**The United States Underground Air Force Base Center**

**and Technological Research Institute**

**_-2115 hours (9:15 P.M.)_**

_Inside the hidden Air Force base, General Scott Kelly arrives with Second-in-Command Louis Argon to the deepest chambers of the unit to enter the Conference Room, ten miles into the Earth's crust._

* * *

There was stillness in the room before General Air Force Chief of Staff Louis Argon spoke to conclude the session. "Well, I suppose that ends this year's meeting. Next time, make sure to add more details to the altercations within Maintenance committee, but other than that it was nice doing business with you men."

Kelly skipped out on the friendly gestures and small chat and instead exited the Conference room to descend upon the Subject's holding room. He took a quick peek into its archives to reveal stacks of aged paperwork withering by the touch.

**Name: _Unknown_. Alias: **_**H.I.M**_**. Identification Number: _570634932._ Duration of Confinement: _Exactly eight years, three days, 4 hours, and 13 minutes._ Duration of Remaining Confinement: _Life._**

Built and entire military base, created dozens of protocols, and established the finest advancements in National Security, but the General was just as wary of the demon as he was the very minute he was entered into the base under his care.

In the holding room lied H.I.M. in a 250 square foot cell, behind 10 layers of bulletproof glass, a mere puff of red smoke just clouding the entire space provided for the past 8 years. Nothing less, nothing more.

Kelly stood in front of the bulletproof glass within inches of his face, the red haze ubiquitous, almost lethal even. Imminent turmoil of an entire world could be at stake, the fall of humanity for that matter, and he could do nothing to prevent such from happening other than locking the problem up and tossing the key. Considering this, the General could finally confirm that he's never felt so useless in all of his life.

As he turned to exit the holding rooms, he could hear a soft hiss spread throughout the surveillance room, like a snake preparing to attack its prey from behind.

_**You know this is futile, General…**_

He whipped his head around to the glass cell, but everything was in place. Kelly twisted his face in confusion. _How-?_

_**Run while you can, Scottie! BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE…**_

Argon entered the surveillance room to check on his friend. "Hey General, ready to head o-"

"Check the holding cell."

"Wait, but–"

"**CHECK THE HOLDING CELL!**" the General shouted. His veins on his neck exposed and his eyes livid with anger.

Begin the first time Kelly's ever yelled at him, Argon conceded with a pained look on his face. After a few minutes of viewing the cell's status, he looked up to face the General. "Nothing. There not a damn thing wrong Genera, and it's been like that for _eight years_."

But Kelly was still frozen in place, unable to grasp what he just heard. Argon didn't know how to make it any clearer to him as he went up close to his longtime companion and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Scott… are you okay?" Kelly tried to come up with an explanation for the events, but didn't come up with a thing. No answer came, but he knew, he knew it all along.

Their day of reckoning was coming soon.

"…Yeah, let's just leave; this place gives me weird vibes."

As the two generals left the holding cell, H.I.M. remained in his cell as his plot was coming to fruition after so long. He couldn't help but let out a low chuckle which spread all across the holding room. Very soon he'd rise from the earth, and when that day comes, he wasn't just aiming for Townsville. No, He was going in for the whole lot of them.

_**Those three mongrels thought they were done with me, but the fun's just beginning…**_

HIM looked towards the exit doors. Soon, he'd be free of these chains, and when he was No one would be able to hide from his wrath. NO ONE.

_**You've been warned, General Kelly…**_

* * *

Chapter 8: Nailing the Coffin

_Eagle Fitness_

_After picking up Bubbles from school, Gladys pulled up to the entrance of the gym to introduce Buttercup with the instructor for her classes. As they entered the large gym, a tall well built young man in his twenties came towards them with his arm stretched out to greet them. From seeing him Gladys met his hand __delightfully__ and prepared to introduce herself._

* * *

"I believe you're Jeong-hun Lee?"

He gave them a ghost of a nod. "Yes. My brother recommended her?"

Buttercup muttered bitterly to herself. _"Don't see why-"_

"Bree has had problems adjusting to the city life." Gladys interjected right on cue, giving her a warning look.

Unlike the agent, Mr. Lee cast a sympathetic look to the dark haired teen. "That is very understandable. You've probably left many friends and loved ones you've known throughout the years, so the exchange can be rough for individuals."

Buttercup raised an eyebrow, unfazed by the man's kind gesture. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" But the instructor only took in her response with a brisk nod and turned towards the center of the gym. "Let's begin the tour, shall we?"

As they walked across the gym, the two females looked around the gym trying to find the class location, but only saw treadmills, weights, and the track that ran in the back of the building.

"Where the hell is this place anyway?"

Mr. Lee turned and smiled brightly at her. "Sometimes the best directions in life are the ones we least expect." They stood on top of an open space in the gym before Mr. Lee pulled the switch that opened the middle of the open area. From there, the two saw an old staircase leading into an abyssal black room, bearing resemblance to the depths of Hell itself. Gladys and Buttercup exchanged alarmed looks.

"You brought me here! You go first!" Buttercup snapped. Mr. Lee calmly descended the stairs as the lights turned on with each step he took. "I prefer to interact with my students one on one without any directions from the surface. Therefore I placed them underneath the surface of the gym in soundproofed walls so there are no distractions."

_And no escaping,_ Buttercup thought miserably.

When the three entered the underground room, they saw a small open space lined with punching bags, weight machines and a small hallway on the right side leading to four smaller chambers. Gladys gave the instructor a confused look. "With all due respect Mr. Lee, this just looks like another gym."

"That's because it is." At her confusion, the bodybuilder continued. "When this gym turned into the success that it is today, I wanted to make a greater difference beyond these walls. So I turned to the trouble youth and realized that the methods used to connect to them are greatly respected, highly esteemed," he chuckled lightly to himself, "and profoundly useless."

"What sort of angsty teen wants to sit in a desk and _talk _about her feelings? To say that 'I feel angry' is very ineffective when compared to actually SHOWING that you're angry. So for that reason I created my own method with this private gym. Whoever signs up can have access to these machines, finally release their bent out emotions and enter a state of tranquility, or at least partially before entering into the lecture where I teach them how to channel their anger into something of much better use."

Gladys started to consider this. "I must say, your methods sound… arguable. But the results seem to prove themselves." She looked up and grinned at him. "She's all yours." But before going back up the stairs she locked eyes on Buttercup one final time. "And you?"

The young girl groaned exasperatedly. "_I'll be good, mommie." _After Gladys left Mr. Lee turned to her with an expectant look. "Any questions?"

Buttercup strained her ears to the sound of hard rock vibrating off of the walls. "Is that the Disturbed?"

"Yes. In our private rooms you can work out to yourself, and take use of the speakers inside."

_And that's exactly where I'm headed. _"Okay Jet Li, with all due respect can you leave me alone? I haven't been in the best of moods and I don't want anyone to make it worse-"

As if things couldn't get any worse Buttercup suddenly ran into the redhead from yesterday. Waves of shock and rage flowed between them as they glared at each other before the girl finally moved aside to leave the gym as Mr. Lee watched the whole scene take place in intrigue. "I take it you know each other well?"

She rolled her eyes. "Too well for my tastes…"

* * *

-Brick-

_One…Two…Three…_

_One…Two…Th– _

_No. No that's wrong. He's losing it. Shit, not again…_

"STOP THE BALLS!" The team crowded around unsure of what they did wrong.

_This is gonna be a long day_. "C'mon guys, prelims are tomorrow and we're still doing the same mistakes! Danny, Lorenzo, can you guys count?! I've told you that you can't hold the ball for more than three seconds. By the time you have it in your hands, you should already know who's free and who's blocked, otherwise you'll be manhandling the ball until it's too late. Luis, stop caring about the defenders. You're mid. Mid is support. So I want your ass SUPPORTING my forwards! And Julian-"

I searched the crowd for a second. "Where the hell's Julian?"

Eric stepped out of the group avoiding my gaze. "He's in… the bathroom… sir?"

"Don't you fuckin lie to me! Now unless you wanna be glued to the bench tomorrow, I wanna know where the hell this prick is!" Jesus Christ. We need to get our team together in less than 24 hours and our main goalie decides to take a day off? I don't have time for this bullshit!

"_Right here._" Sure enough, he came right on cue over a half an hour late with a sneering look. "SIR Brent Jones." Always full of jokes. Almost as funny as the ones he makes of me in the locker room when he thinks I'm not there.

"Julian. So nice of you to join us." I won't give him the satisfaction of making me mad, but I decided that today he was gonna learn how to keep his mouth shut.

"You're on bench."

The look on his face was priceless. "You can't do that! I'm the freaking goalie!" I kept my face indifferent to make sure he took me seriously, but that proved to be a challenge. There's nothing more satisfying to me than putting people like him in his place. I held out my hand for the shirt. "Not anymore. Gimme your jersey." If I could become the school's best forward in a week, being a goalie couldn't be that hard.

He gave me a harsh glare with his eyes narrowing into slits, the jersey still firmly in his clenched grip.

"**Give me your jersey."** I said sternly. After a long stare down, he finally shoved his jersey into my open palm and dropped onto the bench next to our water boy, Sam. Coach Paul doesn't believe in alternates; _"it's either you're fit, or you're shit"_ was the quote he used in addressing any questions relating to such.

"Sam!" The scrawny freshmen looked up to see my jersey landing right on his face. "Looks like it's your lucky day. You'll be playing left forward. Danny, you'll be pulling up to my position, so you and Lo need to fill him in on the plays before practice is over, so I EXPECT you all to know every one of those plays by the time I arrive tomorrow. Midfielders, you know your jobs, and I better not see a CRACK in our defense tomorrow!"

Julian snorted. "There's no way you can fill goalie –"

"And _you?_" I said facing our former goalie."You better get yourself comfortable with that bench cause you're not going to be touching any balls unless it's that peewee pair you call your dignity." I put on his jersey and walked away trying to ignore him trying to charge at me from behind the arms of the team shouting curses at me.

"Think you're funny, huh?_ Think you're tough shit since you're swapping tongues with that BITCH!"_

The minute he said the last word I froze in place. I knew I had to calm down, but with my fists shaking and the twitch coming in from my right eye, all I wanted to do was beat the shit out of him.

Realizing he caught my attention, he went on and even though I had my back turned to him, I could see the smirk on his face as he mocked me. _Calm Down…_

"Lemme tell you _'mano!_ Girls like HER_…_" he snickered to himself before finishing his statement. "they come a dime a dozen in the streets–"

I sent a punch straight for his jaw before I let the others pull me away. "GET YOUR ASS OFF THIS FIELD!" Eventually, he turned his back to the team and made his way towards the parking lot.

I turned to see the entire team staring at me in shock, but I was fed up with yelling. "Just get back to practice, guys." I'll deal with them tomorrow. For now I sat on the bench trying to clear my head over what happened in the peaceful silence.

"_How's my FAVORITE soccer player!?"_

_And so my torment begins..._ "Brandon, what do you want? I'm not in the mood."

"Well excuse me for trying to be considerate!" I sent him a death glare. "Okay, I need the jeep."

"I don't think so. I need to be here early, this team's nowhere near ready."

He leaned in close so no one could hear him. "Brick, _are you kidding me?_ You could nail that team by yourself, screw the others!"

"_Watch your mouth." _I growled. It's been almost a year and I still don't feel completely safe using our names. There's too much at stake. "What do you need it for?"

He looked down at the grass sheepishly. "…Y'know that new blonde?"

Here we go. "You want me to risk preliminaries for a chick?"

"Hear me out Brent! She's not like the others!"

"Don't feed me bullshit!"

"I'm serious! She's nice, smart, _beautiful…_" He started to get that dreamy look in his eye like he does every time he gets a crush, like some lovesick puppy in middle school.

Needless to say, I don't see this one being any different from the others. "You realize she's only been here for two days, right?"

"Brent! I'll do anything!" he whined. I thought this over with an evil grin. _Let's see just how much he wants to be with this girl._

"You're our mascot tomorrow."

"But-"

"You said _ANYTHING._"

After a while, he finally gave in grumbling curses. "…Fine."

"That bitch better be worth it. You're looking forward to smelling sweaty socks for the next two hours." He plopped onto the bench muttering another round of curses while I snickered in delight over how much fun I'll have seeing him melt in the dreaded shark's suit.

After a few minutes passed, he turned to me with serious look. "Have you heard the news lately?"

"About?"

He scowled in response "Who else, Brick? I'm talking about Butch!"

I turned to Boomer with my full attention. He never gets this serious, so anything involving us must be pretty bad, especially considering Butch's record. "What about him?"

He stood up and tossed me a rolled copy of _The Townsville Times. _"Check for yourself. You might find something interesting." Before I could look up he was already gone, leaving me with something that could change our lives.

* * *

-Blossom-

"_**And here we are, almost 24 hours after the horrific scene ensued upon Townsville citizens with an unforeseen tape of the girl who rescued a child and perhaps hundreds of others from the robbery…"**_

"WE'RE HOME!" I shut the TV quick before turning to see Gladys and Bubbles come inside with some groceries. I forced a bright smile to shift my focus from the news. "Hey guys! How'd it go with Buttercup?"

Gladys strained to find the words. "She… cooperated. I'm just hoping she doesn't give Mr. Lee too much grief." I nodded slowly to myself in agreement. It could've been worse.

Bubbles trudged through the kitchen with a sullen face. _Let's see if we can get her to smile._

"Hey Bubbles! I didn't see you there. How was dance tryouts?"

But she put away the milk cartons and walked past me to go to her room. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh," Just like I thought. Those girls probably didn't even give her a chance. But before she could open her door, I tried to cheer her up a bit. "Who needs them?! I'm sure they missed out on someone – "

" –I made it…" I raised my eyebrows in surprise. _So why is she so sad?_

"…It's a long story." She mumbled just as the song _'Royals'_ rang off from her purse. "Hello … H-H-Hey Isabella! I was just- … Wait how'd you- … Oo-kaay … But wait! Where do I–"

But all we heard was the dial tone. Bubbles face me with a stunned look over how spontaneous the dance captain was. "I guess I'm going to the soccer game tomorrow."

"Well that's nice, Bubbles."

"I guess… look I'll see you tomorrow Blossom. I just feel really tired."

"Bubbles," she turned back with that sullen look on her face again. _If only the Professor was here instead of at the lab._ "I'm sure that whatever happens it'll work itself out in the long run."

She smiled sadly at me. "Hope so. Good night Blossom."

"Night Bubbles." I turned back to see Gladys waving me goodbye before she headed for her apartment. I waved goodbye until she closed the door before turning back to the TV as I thought about what Buttercup said last night. The girl in the tape had the exact same clothes Buttercup was wearing last night, she came home right around the time the whole event was broadcast all over the news stations, the smell of charcoal on her clothes…

"She wouldn't. She would _never_ do something like that."

_But the facts are all there…_

I rushed towards her room before she came home and dug through her piles of dirty clothes to find what I was looking for. Soon I found the green hoodie Buttercup's had since she was twelve, the same exact color as the girl's, and it was covered in harsh burn marks and gashes.

It was all there, but I couldn't wrap my head around the idea of Buttercup doing something so… so…

"So _selfish..._" _HOW COULD SHE BE SO __**SELFISH!**_ She already put us in danger with what she did yesterday and now THIS!? To risk our covers, our _LIVES_, for something so _**STUPID!**_ What the hell was so important about a bank catching on fire when there are FIREFIGHTERS, the people who do this for a damn LIVING, _TO TAKE CARE OF IT!_ Buttercup's done a lot of things to piss me off throughout the years, but this was where I draw the line. She'd better hope I don't see her tonight, otherwise it'll be a war zone, because I've just about had it with her crap!

As I marched out of her room, I took a quick peek at Bubbles's room. Her room looked beautiful. With my help, the walls were painted to look like a bright blue sky with billowing clouds with a dark blue carpet. Under a mountain of blankets and pillows, Bubbles slept peacefully unaware of what sort of risks her sister was putting her through.

And I plan on keeping it that way.

* * *

-Buttercup-

It felt good letting the cool wind pressing against my face. I missed being able to jog like this. Out in the open, no one judging me. It felt like I was normal for once.

I have to say it's kinda relieving when you don't feel so pissed off all the time. I'm not saying the classes were amazing, I still hate them. But, the way I see it, they could've been a helluva lot worse. I mean now I can at least I can _pretend_ that I'm caving Ginger's face in.

It also got my mind off of other things. Thinking back to this morning, that was the first time a nightmare actually seemed so _real_; like I travelled back in time or something. The smoke, the fire, the pain… it was all there. Must be this goddamn city.

I tried to brush it off. Thinking about it was only gonna make it worse, and I didn't need another nightmare tonight. I stopped at the corner of a wide intersection to wait until I cross. Turning to my right I saw a huge poster of a shrouded figure in my exact same sweats. _The Hooded Heroine!? _They really couldn't have come up with a better name than THAT?

Whatevs. Not like I was doing that anytime soon.

Before I crossed, I saw the girl from last night across the street to my left yelling at a young woman. "MOMMIE! _MOMMIE!_" My face dropped as she tore her hand away from the woman and started running towards me with traffic inches away from hitting her. I couldn't risk my identity out here, so I watched helplessly as cars swerved and slammed their breaks, leaving a perfect pathway for the girl as she skipped across to my side of the sidewalk.

"IT'S YOU!" she cried with a wide grin. "I thought –

"–ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE!? You could've gotten KILLED!" Okay I admit, not very nice to say to a four year old, but how would you react?

She hung her head low as her face fell into a sullen look as water started to drip from her eyes. "S-sorry…"

_Aw, Crap. _"Okay, okay! It's alright, you don't need to cry!"

"I-I-It's j-just that I-I wanted t-t-to t-thank y-you," she hiccupped through her tears. "Y-You s-s-saved me… a-and"

"I know! And I would love to talk to you and your nice mommie -that's marching over to us as we speak- but… um …" _What are superheroes supposed to do!?_

"…but I'm on patrol!" I lowered my voice to a whisper. _"You don't wanna blow my cover, do ya?"_

"_ASHLEY! What in the world were you thinking!"_ Her mom finally made it to the other side and looked up at the crowd with an apologetic smile "I'm so sorry about this, she's only five. _What's the matter with you!?_ Those cars could've knocked you right off the street! You could've gotten so hurt!"

"Sorry…" she mumbled softly.

"Don't say sorry to me sweetheart! You'll have plenty of time for that at home. What are you going to say to this young lady?"

She looked up at me with her lips pressed tightly to keep herself from smiling. "I'm sooo-wwwy for dist-uurbing you throo-out your _JOOOG_, ma'am_._ I promise not to do it again!"

"Better not! Do you realize how hurt you could've been…!" Her mom kept lecturing her as she dragged her down the crosswalk. But before the girl disappeared, she turned back to give me a big wave goodbye while her mom wasn't looking. I smiled lightly at the girl. She kinda me of Bubbles in a way.

I looked up at the sky to check what time it was. _Pretty late, guess I'd better make my way home…_

Suddenly a rock smacked the back of my head, launching me right off the sidewalk. I hit the curb headfirst with a loud _CRACK_ and crashed through the streets with parts of my body flying all over the place in the blur of lights and horns from cars rushing past me. When I finally stopped in the middle of the street, I couldn't feel my limbs as I laid there paralyzed with shock. The throbbing pain from my head spread down to my neckline, but I could still feel the blood pound against my head. Everything in my body just _hurt!_

"…_shit…"_ I whispered hoarsely. But when I was able to sit up, I saw a truck coming towards me at full speed.

"_SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!SHIT!"_ I scrambled off the street just in time to miss the truck, but my sweater got caught to it and ripped halfway through, barely leaving the hood to cover my face. And that was my one of my favorite sweaters too!

_At least I'm not dead._ I made it to the curb to see the same dude in the ski mask from before with a steel blue city mailbox lying on the curb right where I was hit. I felt my face twist in fury when I pulled the pieces together. _THIS DUDE ACTUALLY THREW A MAILBOX AT ME!_

"Hand slipped," he said, but even behind his mask I could feel him grinning at what he caused. "So apparently you're a chick?"

This asshole didn't know when to quit! Even though my whole body ached, I charged towards him with my arm hooked in line for a hit to his jaw, but he caught it easily in one hand and shook his index finger with the other.

"M-mm!" He landed a punch straight to my nose and threw me across the sidewalk into the frightened civilians.

Okay, so this guy's a lot stronger than I thought. There was no way I'd make it in close combat with him, not when he knew all my moves. I ran into the nearest alley to try and find a hiding spot for a surprise attack before I felt someone yank what was left of my hood. The thief threw me in front of him and punched me in the left temple launching me to the back of the alley by my hoodie. I slammed into the back wall hitting the back of my head for the second time before dropping to the floor fifteen feet below. After that first hit from before, there's no way I'd stand a chance with this guy. Hell, I shouldn't even be alive after a hit like that!

"Not done yet kitten!" He took me by the collar and shoved me up against the wall hard enough for it to start cracking under my weight. As I groaned in pain he shoved me farther with the look of bloodlust in his eyes.

"Well, you sure _sound_ like a girl," he snickered. "Let's see what's behind that little mask of yours." But before he could lean any closer I spat at him, taking in his death stare.

"_Bite me." _I muttered. His grip on my collar grew tighter and I made sure to look him dead in the eye to let him know I wasn't giving in. If I was gonna go down in this alley, I could at least say I put up a good fight.

Right as he tucked in his left arm for another blow, I heard sirens coming from the opening of the alley.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" a voice boomed. When I looked up I saw a hoard of police officers and SWAT members pointing their guns at us (most of them pointing at the guy in front of me). Perfect timing like always!

"Are you shittin' me…" he muttered to himself before pulling me close for the last word. "_Guess we'll have to postpone this for another time. See ya soon, kitten..._" Before the officers noticed, he climbed the walls up to the rooftop at lightning speed before taking off. I gawked at the police staring at the rooftops in shock. _And they wonder why crime's so bad here!_

With the police blocking the only way out of the alley, I had to find another route. So I burst through one of the doors in the alley that led to a supply closet. In it was a small window leading to the main streets, and my way out of this mess!

"Wait STOP!" _Ha!_ Like Hell I am! I leaped for the window and quickly climbed off the window to take off into the streets –

"**I SAID STOP!"** Yes, because someone twice as fast as you just stops at the sound of your voice. I about how similar he sounded to Boggs, almost like replicas in a way.

"You won't be interrogated! Look around, there's no one here with us!" Sure enough when I turned around all I saw were civilians passing by, some staring at us over what the shouting as for. But why come after me with no backup?

"You…" He began as he slowly came closer, clearly out of breath."…are the only person that I know… may you be a guy or a girl… that has actually stood a CHANCE against that criminal… and he's been loose on this streets for two years."

I raised my eyebrow. _Your point?_

"We could use someone like you on our side." Hells No. I turned to start walking again before he tugged at my arm to stop me from going away. "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?" I yanked my arm back to my side and walked even faster. Why do people keep doing that?!

"Why'd you put yourself through that? The rescue, the fight, that whole bit when you could be sitting on your couch in God knows where! Why would a kid like you put yourself through so much torment for something that's just _hopeless._"

I turned back to examine at the captain. It was obvious that this guy was _tired_. With a five o clock shadow was a pair of bloodshot eyes, disheveled clothes, and worn out wrinkles. He was fed up with this bullshit, and I couldn't say I blamed him, but that didn't mean I'd join his side out of pity.

He went on. "I'm not saying that I know why, but my theory is that you're one of the rare type of people that actually gives a damn about the citizens here." WRONG. _I couldn't give a damn about these people. _

"So as someone who cares for the public, wouldn't it be reasonable to help people who are supposed to be on your side?" WRONG AGAIN. _The police are toys for the government._ I ended up learning that the hard way at an age where kids are supposed to believe these liars are there to help.

Even though I wanted to look him dead in the eye, I couldn't risk losing the cover I was so close to losing. "Firstly, I don't do this shit for nobody, let's get that straight. Secondly, I don't run with crowds, so whatever you had in mind, I'm gonna have to pass on that."

But before I left he blocked my way home. "In case you change your mind," he fished out a card from his pocket. "This has my number on it. It also has the address where we have a good feeling he's gonna hit next. I know you want this guy caught as much as I do. If you come to this address tomorrow, we just might do that."

"Sorry, but with all due respect sir, there's no WE in this." I scowled and made my way home. Nope. I could do a lot of things, but this is where I draw the line. After all the things I learned in the past few years, trusting anyone in this city would be just about the dumbest thing I could do.

_But still…_ As I snuck into my room from the window (Yeah I had to take the risk and fly up to my window. There's no way I could enter the flat looking like I just got mugged!) I thought back to what that captain asked me.

_Why AM I Doing This? _I say I'm doing it for myself, but is it something more?

I thought about the captain's card with my mind full of questions. But trying to find the answers felt impossible, like trying to catch thin air.

I turned on the news. Still talking about the Hooded Heroine. I sighed to myself at the irony. _The REAL me is supposed to be hanging at the stake and all they're doing is praising someone who doesn't even exist._

The news wasn't getting me anywhere, so I shut the TV and wiped the blood with the sleeve of my ripped sweater. I didn't want to risk looking at myself without feeling even angrier. Passing my hand over the swollen bruises from before, rage burned inside me, begging for another fight. But things have gone way past what I could've imagined.

The press are out for my blood, I've got some prick up my ass talking about making the next superhero dream-team, I've gotta plaster on a fake smile sounding like Barbie on crack so that all this stays out of my family's business, and now this dude's apparently supposed to hit up some big event and I'm the girl everyone's looking at to save the day.

"_You're the only person that stood a chance…" The FUCK!?_ That guy almost had me castrated if I didn't get lucky! It's like these people think I'm the next Messiah or something! All I did was save a kid! How could ONE kid cause all this …?

_What would Pinky do… _

Scratch that. Blossom's not dumb enough to be in my situation. I stared blankly at the brick designed walls never feeling so confused in my life. _How could I have gotten myself into this mess?_

_Why am I even doing this?_

That's a pretty damn good question, and I'm nowhere near answering it.

* * *

-Butch-

I strode through the alleys home with the same bitter look I had yesterday. It was like nothing changed! _Just when I had the bitch, _I thought bitterly to myself. Why do those pricks always come at the last second!

_**Butchie…**_

Crap. _What do you want tranny?_

_**I don't think that's the way you speak to someone who's given you a silver lining.**_

_When I agreed to work for you on the outside, I didn't think that would make me your little errand boy. Plus, the telepathy's starting to get a little annoying!_

_**Quiet! I have no time for your trivial bickering, I came because you have another job.**_

Perfect. Another way to spend my weekend. I thought about the girl in the hoodie with a smirk. At least I get to see her again._ I'm all ears tranny._

_**Townsville's hosting this year's annual **__**Science and Technology Exposition to present their latest invention, and I decided that you'll be making a… guest appearance.**_

Meaning I clean em dry. Not like I haven't heard it before. _Blah, blah, blah. What do I get?_

_**Why, what you've always wanted of course! Fame, fortune, notoriety as the top criminal in the nation–**_

–_And how exactly are you getting this done?_

_**You just let ME handle that situation. For now you'll just be the key to my second revival. With that, we'll dominate this planet, letting them know why you never underestimate a GOD.**_

I snorted to myself. _That's big talk for someone stuck in a box._

_**Just wait child, soon our day shall arrive, and the first step lies within that Emporium. DO NOT FAIL ME…**_

I was already starting to ignore him. How long have I been working for this guy? 3 years? 4?

… _**watch for the girl. She's Closer Than You Think… **_Who, _kitten?_ Bitch couldn't even land a scratch on me, there's no way she's gonna be a threat!

–_**BUTCH!**_

_Calm your tits tranny, I'll get your shit! _

And I have to admit though, the suspense is killing me. Her hoodie practically tore in half from the truck, almost giving me a look at her face. _What the hell's she hiding behind that thing? _And her _eyes!_ when I locked eyes with her for the first time, they were a fiery crystal green color. In fact, it was like they sparkled.

_Where have I seen those eyes?_

* * *

-Blossom-

_Crime Incident: Robbery…Weapons: Unavailable…Identification of the Subject: Unavailable…Description: Short (Approx. 5'3), slender (Approx. 116), green hoodie and 2008 edition black Adidas soccer sweats…_

"Trivial… Irrelevant… Useless…" After reading God knows how many police reports, I began to lose serious faith in our law enforcement. Sneaking into the files Gladys had to read for tomorrow was bad enough, but I couldn't even imagine what would happen if she figured out the truth behind what Buttercup's doing. There can't be a single clue linking her to the girl on the news, so now I just had to remove it while I had the chance and figure out a way out of this mess!

But after two hours I threw the papers to the floor in aggravation, reminding myself to pick them up later, of course. _All this time and still nothing!_ But before I left my desk, one of the papers on the floor managed to catch my eye.

_A picture?_ When I fished it out of the pile on the floor I saw a clear image of Buttercup's face taken TODAY next to some SWAT team member. Her hair, eyes, skin color, everything was right in this picture! A wave of terror wash over my face as I thought of how many copies of this picture there could be out there. Hundreds? _Thousands?_

_What would Gladys say? What would the PROFESSOR say!?_

It was then that I realized that I just can't do this anymore. The hiding, the lying, the work, all for ONE person! Bubbles's team, the Professor job, my scholarship… I couldn't let her ruin this for our family! I couldn't let Buttercup ruin everything AGAIN!

Even if that meant betraying my own sister, I had to think of what's best for us all, and right now, she was a risk I couldn't take anymore.

* * *

The full name to Bubbles's ringtone is _'Royals'_ by Lorde.

Yeah, so this is a pretty short chapter in comparison to the last one. So for those of you that were hoping for a big chapter, you're just going to have to wait for the next one, which I must say I'm looking forward to because they'll figure out their real identities. (Finally!) I'll also include some other surprises that have yet to be revealed in the story, so I intend on creating two parts to the next chapter (which you shouldn't expect in a while...), and I just really hope you guys liked this chapter, but if not that's you.

So to cut this short chapter to an end read, review, and I'll see you soon ;-)


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